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http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/kfcs-cricket-ad-featuring-west-indians-slammed-as-racist/story-e6frg996-1225816762016

KFC's cricket ad featuring West Indians slammed as racist

AN advertisement for KFC that depicts an uncomfortable white cricket fan giving rowdy West Indians fried chicken has been slammed in the US as racist.

In the commercial, screened during the cricket Test , the young man is swamped by rowdy West Indies supporters.

The ad, part of KFC's "Cricket Survival Guide" series, depicts Mick the Australian surrounded by dancing West Indies fans.

"Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" Mick asks the camera.

He then shares a bucket of fried chicken with the unruly crowd, bringing them under control. "Too easy," he says.

The commercial gained international notoriety when it was posted on the video-sharing website YouTube, attracting more than 2700 comments over three weeks.

Critics said the commercial perpetuated a stereotype that African Americans eat large quantities of fried chicken.

US radio presenter Ana Kasparian told her audience the advertisement was clearly racist.

"These people, they're so unruly and uncivilised and so rowdy, jumping up and down," she said. "They just can't sit down unless you give them some damn fried chicken! It's too easy!"

Blogger Craig Brimm said the commercial depicted the fans as "noisy negroes that just won't shut up".

But in a statement yesterday, KFC Australia said the ad had been "misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US".

"It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team," the statement read.

"The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC's permission, where we are told a culturally based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism.

"We unequivocally condemn discrimination of any type and have a proud history as one of the world's leading employers for diversity."

The case follows last year's ill-fated "blackface routine" on Hey Hey It's Saturday, which was also widely condemned in the US.

In the 19th century, white performers travelling the southern US would paint their faces black and perform racist scenes.



Any excuse to play the racist card. Seriously.

I lived in the American South for about a year and the majority of people, black and white, eat great quantities of bloody fried chicken. You'd go into one of those buffet places and there'd be little square containers with vegetables and salmon and pasta and next to them would be this bathtub-sized vat of fried chicken. And why not? If someone gave me a bucket of fried chicken at the cricket, I'd shut up too. Because it takes fried chicken to make a civilised person out of me? No! Because it's yum! (and it's free!)

Maybe they could make a series out of these ads so everyone can feel equally offended. They could hand out pork pies to the Poms, sheepskin blankets to the Kiwis and grenade launchers to the South Africans. Or you could have it the other way around and someone could come and present the Aussie fans with a few hundred copies of Crocodile Dundee in LA while saying 'Take that, convicts!'

I'm so sick of people being precious over TV advertising. Why does everything have to be sending us a secret message, be it racist or sexist or encouraging parents to put their babies behind the wheel of a 4WD? Furthermore, the people who have complained, saw the ad online - which isn't the same thing as the ad actually being aired on TV in their country. All cultures have differing sets of values, and so someone's always going to end up being offended. And if people are deliberately going to go looking for things to make a fuss about, it's going to happen quite a lot.

They should toughen the FUIC up. Oh......wrong reason to complain.

Great stuff Fisho

How pathetic!

Constance_Perm wrote:Great stuff Fisho

Are you saying black people clapping are more important than the out of focus white people?

It's not racist unless they were also served watermelon for afters.

I think it's the American's being racist. They're assuming that West Indians are the same as African-Americans and have the same stereotypes. Dark skin != fried chicken, rap music and basketball in other parts of the world.

If the featured a bloke passing out bottles of rum and some joints to shut them up then perhaps there might be a case.

Barto wrote:I think it's the American's being racist. They're assuming that West Indians are the same as African-Americans and have the same stereotypes. Dark skin != fried chicken, rap music and basketball in other parts of the world.

If the featured a bloke passing out bottles of rum and some joints to shut them up then perhaps there might be a case.

Gold.

political correctness going mad, ffs it is trying to be humorous, i don't see the security firms carrying on with the kfc ad about them & making them look a tad silly or the ticket scalper one...i say get a life & have a bit of a laugh......god help 'em if they ever see an episode of 'love thy neighbour' & that was a funny show imho

This response from a facebook group called: "mick from kfc should go die"

"Mick you are an oxygen thief. your plans are terrible, not merely realistic and will either end you up with a massive **** off fine, in jail or a punch in oatbag. go choke on some chicken."

Lol.

silicone skyline wrote:

Constance_Perm wrote:Great stuff Fisho

Are you saying black people clapping are more important than the out of focus white people?

LOL I'm saying nothin!!

Actually thats a lie .. Does anyone else think the second chick looks like a heavily tanned Hayley Lewis??

Constance_Perm wrote:

silicone skyline wrote:

Constance_Perm wrote:Great stuff Fisho

Are you saying black people clapping are more important than the out of focus white people?

LOL I'm saying nothin!!

Actually thats a lie .. Does anyone else think the second chick looks like a heavily tanned Hayley Lewis??

i thought the same thing cp

bayman wrote:political correctness going mad

It's not even that, it's just a couple of pretentious idiots who haven't got a clue what they're talking about.

silicone skyline wrote:

Constance_Perm wrote:Great stuff Fisho

Are you saying black people clapping are more important than the out of focus white people?

"our company has an equal opportunity policy and a diverse workforce blah blah blah"

Vale Tokin Blackman BTW.

Barto wrote:

bayman wrote:political correctness going mad

It's not even that, it's just a couple of pretentious idiots who haven't got a clue what they're talking about.

Exactly, it's too easy to blame PC for some of this crap.
PC did some good things for our world, it's not entirely evil.

bayman wrote:

Constance_Perm wrote:

silicone skyline wrote:

Constance_Perm wrote:Great stuff Fisho

Are you saying black people clapping are more important than the out of focus white people?

LOL I'm saying nothin!!

Actually thats a lie .. Does anyone else think the second chick looks like a heavily tanned Hayley Lewis??

What about Matthew Newton at number 3 ???

And McLovin on the end?

Pseudo wrote:It's not racist unless they were also served watermelon for afters.

serving the watermelon first would be ok?

interested observer wrote:What about Matthew Newton at number 3 ???

Nah it's Kick Gurry, another insignificant Aussie "actor".