I’ve written a lot on this blog about edgy vs. inappropriate advertising and where to draw the line. There’s a new controversy afoot over a KFC ad from Australia. When viewed through American eyes, it is nearly impossible to see this ad as anything but racist. However, apparently when viewed from an Australian context, it is anything but racist. You can read all about the controversy in Mashable. The sad part is that the outcry was enough to make KFC chicken out and pull the ad.
Worse yet, pulling the ad caused a bit of an outcry with Australians — and rightly so. If the ad wasn’t intended for an American audience and wasn’t ever going to run in America, why should the campaign be changed just because some ignorant whiners in the US didn’t understand it?
Yes, companies do need to realize that even local campaigns may be seen globally thanks to social media. And, yes, this is something global companies might want to consider. On the other hand, perhaps the people who are always on the lookout for things to become offended by just so they can feel “progressive” should be ignored from to time. Getting all worked up about an ad meant for another culture (even if that other culture happens to speak the same language) is lame. Part of being politically correct is accepting that you don’t know everything and minding your own business.
Excellent example.
One thing the social web brings on the table is a new segmentation criteria that’s “communities”. Sometimes communities are geo-local, sometimes not.
Then, you’ve themes that transcend all communities like racism and a global brand like KFC should have been more careful on the first place. It costed nothing to add one or two white person dressed in red.
Best
True, but if you look at some of the comments from the Australians, it seems there is more to it than that. I think the fans weren’t randomly black, but represented fans of a very specific team in a very specific part of the world where an adding a white person may seem really odd. I really don’t know.
I worry that watering local advertising down to where it is suitable for every person in every culture around the world may result in some pretty lame ads that don’t work well for the intended audience.
The racial tensions that are part of the US culture are not global. And so, back to the first comment, I do not believe that there is a need to add a couple more white folks to the ad if the country does not hold the racial issues the US does. I do think the ad is well done and represents the truth of the matter…that sometimes, a white person is in an odd place when surrounded by a culture that he may not completly fit in. And is ok that he doesn’t, is actually quiet nice.
I agree with Marta, the racial issues in the US are vastly different from those in Australia. I also think it’s hypocritical for us to criticize an ad in Australia not appealing to an American audience, as we don’t think about how our ads will be perceived overseas. Think about how all the conservative cultures out there view some of our sexually charged ads.