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[*Bob*]

Racist / Not racist isn't really the issue at hand here.

If you're in the business of marketing KFC, a global brand - and yet you've somehow managed to stay blissfully unaware of both 'how stuff gets around on the internet' and the pejorative linkage of fried chicken, black people and slavery in the USA, then perhaps it's time to find a new job?

Perhaps you can work in Japanese car manufacturing and help launch the new Nissan "Minge" into the UK market?

[Loz]

Perhaps you can work in Japanese car manufacturing and help launch the new Nissan "Minge" into the UK market?

You mean like the Buick Masturbation, the Mitsubishi Masturbator, the Toyota Ugly Old Woman or the Ford Small Penis??

It's more common than you'd think...!

[mockney piers]

Indeed Loz.

Whatever next, selling Allo Allo to the french and germans? Oh...

Actually that article is a bit dodgy isn't it!!

[*Bob*]

Causing potential offence to the French with an advert for, say, John Smith's bitter - no problem. The French don't drink it. However..

KFC branches in USA - over 5000

KFC outlets in Australia - less than 500

It's a simple matter of marketing economics.. and somebody got their sums wrong.

On the upside, this must be the first time that more than four people in America have ever shown any interest in cricket.

[????]

I think it tells us something of the insularity of both americans and australians...

er, we of course, are very outward looking

[Keef]

I love Australia in a lot of ways, but is a bit of a racist country IMO. It is also overly macho and sexist. Basically they're about 30 years behind in terms of equality, and when you consider how far we still have to go, it's a bit of a worry.

That ad is not racist though.

[matthew123]

Unfortunately Keef there are many countries that are more than a bit racist - but I guess it's not politically correct to bash those from outside the western world on that front

[jollybaby]

That's actually quite a sophisticated piece of advertising for Australia - a lot of their adverts are still of the ' BUY TODAY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE' genre without any attempt at humour or irony.

I didn't think it was offensive either - I think there may have been an implication that the fried chicken went down particularly well as the crowd was West Indian but I didn't take that as any more offensive as giving pints of Guinness to an Irish crowd, or tea and sandwiches to English supporters.

Now what I did find disturbing was seeing a group of aussie supporters in Melbourne going to the boxing day test (against Pakistan) wearing tea towels on their heads

[pk]

in my view the ad is certainly racially insensitive and ill judged

[brum]

pk Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> in my view the ad is certainly racially

> insensitive and ill judged

Please can you explain why?

[Mick Mac]

jollybaby Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

> I didn't think it was offensive either - I think

> there may have been an implication that the fried

> chicken went down particularly well as the crowd

> was West Indian but I didn't take that as any more

> offensive as giving pints of Guinness to an Irish

> crowd, or tea and sandwiches to English

> supporters.

>

Perhaps pints of lager to English supporters would be a more appropriate racial sterotype to end that paragraph JB. Tea and sandwiches, much too complimentary.

[*Bob*]

Who's for some 'Coon Chicken'?! Delicious. Strewth, mate.. just a harmless bit of fun..

[pk]

brum Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> pk Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > in my view the ad is certainly racially

> > insensitive and ill judged

>

>

> Please can you explain why?

because it has caused offence and it was foreseeable that it would do so

[*Bob*]

If 'throwing a banana at John Barnes' is in the premiership, then 'placating back people with fried chicken' is probably somewhere in the second league.

'Ill-judged' is a good description.

[Loz]

Interesting choice, *Bob*, as the most popular brand of cheese in Australia causes a little consternation. It's called Coon Cheese (gasp!!!). It's been called that for nearly 80 years. It is named after Edward Coon, who developed the process by which it is made.

A 'campaigner' recently took the cheesemakers to task, claiming "he has been unable to find evidence that Edward Coon was a famous cheese maker, contending that the name came instead from the black wraparound in which it was originally sold. Edward Coon was an obscure factory hand who was induced to subscribe his name to the patent for cheese manufacture some time after the brand had been in use."

He obviously didn't try very hard to find the evidence - it took me two attempts at a google search to find this. Filed 1925, dated 1926 both before the brand was launched in 1931.

So, it leads to an interesting question... does a company abandon a valuable brand, worth millions and innocently named, because a word has changed meaning (assuming the American, offensive, version wasn't exported until later)??

In a similar vein, an American, upon sighting a bottle of Fairy Liquid, claimed to me that would never be sold in the US, as it would offend gay sentiments. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But branding is a minefield - where do you draw the line?

Strewth, mate.. just a harmless bit of fun..

And could that sentence, assuming you are not Australian, be considered racist (especially as you seem to be insinuating that all Australians are racially insensitive, but your picture is from an American establishment)? If this was about the Japanese and you wrote, "Oooh, just a harmress bit of fun", does that make it different? If we were talking and this was regarding India and you said the same sort of words in an overblown Indian accent, does that make it racist? Minefields, minefields...

[*Bob*]

That's all by-the-by, Loz.

'Coon Cheese' is not sold in America, nor is it ever likely to be. Most Australians are not offended by it, so there's no need (in terms of selling more ropey cheese) to change the name.

But KFC is KFC the world over. Moreover, it's an American brand and America is one of its largest markets.

If you work in marketing and advertising, surely priority number one is sales. Selling fifty more Bargain Buckets (I mean, er, Family Feasts) in Australia is no good if you risk offending half the population in one of your largest markets in the process.

[Keef]

So the answer is to change the name in Australia, like they did with Burger King!

That's actually quite a sophisticated piece of advertising for Australia - a lot of their adverts are still of the ' BUY TODAY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE' genre without any attempt at humour or irony.

So true, the average ad on Aussie telly is made with a camcorder in the local DIY store.

[Loz]

So the answer is to change the name in Australia, like they did with Burger King!

Ah, but they did that before establishing the brand in Oz. When Burger King decided to move to Australia, they found that 'Burger King' was already trademarked, so their hand was forced. Urban mythology has it that there was a small Burger King establishment with the trademark that was bought up by McD's as a blocking move!

So true, the average ad on Aussie telly is made with a camcorder in the local DIY store.

All Australian telly is bloody awful, not just the ads. It's become very American "shove an ad in wherever possible". Even the cricket had announcements of ads for tours, 'memorabilia', what movie is on Channel 9 tonight, etc. Urgh.

[Mick Mac]

*Bob* Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> If 'throwing a banana at John Barnes' is in the

> premiership, then 'placating back people with

> fried chicken' is probably somewhere in the second

> league.

>

> 'Ill-judged' is a good description.

I'm not sure Bob - throwing bananas was the visual accompaniment to the vocal monkey chants at football grounds and both had disgraceful racial connotations.

Who does not like fried chicken? and who should find that offensive anyay.

[Strawbs]

jollybaby Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> That's actually quite a sophisticated piece of

> advertising for Australia - a lot of their adverts

> are still of the ' BUY TODAY BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE'

> genre without any attempt at humour or irony.

>

^

Please tell me you are kidding.. I'd like to see an example of our A LOT of our adverts are like that..

[Alan Dale]

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[Strawbs]

Im not trying to be controversial but what on earth is all the fuss about? I am Australian and to be honest even if I wasnt I wouldnt find that ad racist in any way shape or form. It is based on a KFC bucket which has always been known as the 'share with your mates food' and the fact that in the ad he is sat on the cricket oppositions side and he is probably losing and wanting to make friends with those around him, I mean come on people, racist my backside!

I do agree Australia has a long way to come in terms of accepting race, gays and just general equality but this ad is not an example of them being backwards..

[*Bob*]

It doesn't matter how many people like or don't like fried chicken. I do.

It doesn't matter how much people aren't offended by it. I'm not.

All that matters is that some people were guaranteed to be offended by it, and when those people also happen to be the ones who buy 'a lot' of your product, you've made a boo-boo.

[Keef]

You're spot on Strawbs. Although I agree with Piers, that Australia are winning the cricket not losing, and he's offering the chicken to ease the tension.

Either way, it's not racist at all.

[Mick Mac]

Ok Bob, But we are not talking about whether KFC have made a boo-boo - I agree it seems clear they have, as it has gained them adverse publicity.

But is it genuinely offensive? Or are people searching for something to be offended by.

I agree that it is possibly racist to suggest all west indian people like fried chicken, but that does not make it automatically offensive.

"All west indian people are nice" is possibly racist - but probably not offensive.