KFC Ad Gets Viewers Fried

via flickrcc:taro©jason

Here’s the scenario: A TV ad displays a white guy who is swamped by a crowd of rattled up Black people singing and dancing.  He becomes frustrated and in order to ease the mass he hands out a bucket of fried which immediately silences the noise and excitement.

Now here’s the question:  Is this a portrayal of racism?

Digging deeper:  What if this ad originates outside of US borders in a completely different continent with different standards and  principles of race relation.  And which does not carry the historic and stereotypical association of Black Americans and fried chicken?  Then, is it still a portrayal of racism?

That’s the question which has sparked debate in the U.S.  online community after the Australian branch of the KFC fast-food chain released a commercial in which a white cricket fan uses chicken as a ploy to ease the crowd of hyper West Indians surrounding him.

In the commercial he asks: “Need a tip when you’re stuck in an awkward situation?”  He then proceeds to hand out KFC chicken.   As the crowd began to simmer down, he expresses relief and says “Too easy.”

After the ad was leaked over the internet, KFC Australia was stormed with criticism by US viewers accusing the company of being racially insensitive.  In effect, the Australian chain recently removed the ad and released a statement saying: “While we believe this light-hearted commercial has been well understood by Australian cricket fans, to avoid the possibility of any further offence being caused by the advertisement here or online overseas, KFC will cease running the commercial immediately.”

In addition, the chain says:  “KFC Australia apologizes unreservedly for any offence caused which of course was wholly unintended.”

And in defense, the chain declares: ” We unequivocally condemn discrimination of any type and have a proud history as one of the world’s leading employers for diversity.”

Since then American internet users have continued to question whether we are being over analytical of the ad or is the criticism justified due to our history of deep seeded and hurtful racist images.

My question is as follows: Is it fair to accuse the international world of depicting racist conceptions though other countries do not share the same history and boundaries?  Or should international media be more conscious and aware when they produce TV images with the potential to leak out and stir up feelings of hurt and degradation to an ethnic population?

Watch the video, and decide for yourself.

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