Posted on 08/28/2023 2:55:06 AM PDT by grundle
A new KFC campaign being run in Canada has sparked a flurry of criticism on Twitter after photos of billboards were deemed racially insensitive. The global restaurant chain has long used its slogan, “It’s finger lickin’ good,” and in the new advertisement, the company utilizes a witty attempt at proving it.
Azim Akhtar, the director of marketing for KFC Canada, excitedly shared images that depicted the reflections of two Black men and a woman of color in silverware as they ate chicken and licked their fingers. “Sorry, utensils. It’s finger lickin’ good. Latest campaign, I couldn’t be more proud!” he tweeted on Aug. 24.
The marketing effort was applauded by many for creatively playing off the slogan, which dates back to the 1950s. But Black people in particular expressed disappointment, criticizing KFC for approving a marketing plan that perpetuated racist stereotypes.
“This is why it’s important for marketers/advertisers to study art history and historic ad campaigns. The print ad vs. the video came across as a caricature display of Black people. A picture is worth a thousand words. Nah, this was a miss,” wrote one person. Another individual said the fast-chicken supplier was “bringing minstrel tropes and fried chicken back in style.”
Akhtar took notice of the scrutiny and attempted to extinguish any hard feelings by sharing the full video advertisement. In it, a cast of white, Black, Asian, old, and young people of various walks of life are shown eating fried chicken as silverware goes unused and plastic cutlery is thrown by the wayside — reiterating that the food is “finger lickin’ good.”
(Excerpt) Read more at yahoo.com ...
The only thing I found offensive was using an Air Supply song for the music.
My last fried chicken was served at my uncle's home at a Sunday night family dinner in November 1966 in Norfolk, VA. Lots of napkins and greasy fingers. I'm gluten intolerant, so I stick with grilled or stewed chicken meat. KFC? I don't go there.
Yeah, the health care "professionals" who staked their professional standing on covidiocy and now have none.
The 50 ex CIA professionals who staked theirs and the CIA's reputation of denouncing the laptop as hackery now have none.
A bunch of professionals swearing to anything is just taken as utter nonsense any more.
A company that sells window blinds was running an ad with a couple snarky women discussing the purchase of new blinds and referring to their husbands as incapable dolts that couldn't possibly install a window blind. As the primary income earner in my household, I got the message. Never patronize this company (or any company that portrays husbands as helpless dolts). I picked up on that "woke" theme well ahead of the more blatant Bud Light screw up. I've been voting with my wallet for a long time.
—”an attempt to placate racial complainers but with them, there’s no satisfying them.”
That bunch would complain if they were hung with a brand-new rope!
I spent three weeks in Europe recently. It was weird seeing only white people in commercials...except for a Fanta commercial (and even that one had more whites than blacks in it).
If they used white actors, it would cultural appropriation.
Exactly
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.