Ad telling woman to eat KFC rather than ‘pigeon food’ cleared by watchdog
A series of ads for KFC featuring people being persuaded to swap what they planned to eat for a KFC snack have been cleared by the Ad Standards Board.
The ads include a young woman eating a cracker who is urged to avoid “pigeon” food and get KFC popcorn chicken and gravy. The ad created a lengthy debate on Mumbrella when it went to air in February.
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A second ad features a man about to give a female guest food from his fridge. His alter ego appears and tells him he is “punching above his weight” and should get her KFC instead.
And a third ad sees a man choose KFC rather than his wife’s leftover meatloaf.
All three were subject to separate complaints, but all three were dismissed.
One complaint about the pigeons ad said: “This ad implies to viewers that the young women should replace her lunch with an unhealthy snack alternative of popcorn chicken and gravy.
“I feel as though this might give the impression to girls (and other people) that it is okay to tease about this and to use peer pressure to encourage a friend to make a bad food choice.”
But KFC argued: “The Snack Advertisement does not relate to a sandwich, but rather dry crackers. The Snack Advertisement provides the message that dry crackers are bland in flavour.”
And the ASB ruled: “The board considered that advertising a product in preference to crackers was not contrary to prevailing community standards as the advertisement does not suggest that that KFC is healthier than the other product – simply that it is tastier or more likely to be thought so by the woman.”
Responding to complaints about the other two ads, KFC said: “In the lunch advertisement, it is not made clear exactly what the leftovers are held in the container. In the Dinner Advertisement, we’re not informed of the composition or size of the meat loaf meal. As such, we are unable to make any comparison between the meals being considered and KFC. The KFC menu offers foods that can be enjoyed as an occasional treat and can easily fit into a healthy lifestyle.
The ASB also dismissed complaints about those two ads.
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Compare & contrast.
“The board considered that advertising a product in preference to crackers was not contrary to prevailing community standards as the advertisement does not suggest that that KFC is healthier than the other product – simply that it is tastier or more likely to be thought so by the woman.” – KFC ruling
“The majority of the Board considered that the advertisement is encouraging consumers to choose the advertised product over fresh fruit or over a product which would be consistent with dietary guidelines and is therefore contrary to prevailing community standards.” – SPC Fruit Snacks ruling
Consistency?
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Well, judging by the sheer amount of lardarses out there, I’d say “prevailing community standards” are all in favour of inhaling vast quantities of fried chicken snacks.
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It seems to me that pretty much every ad that gets a complaint is cleared by the ASB… I know this probably isn’t the case… but it seems that way to me!
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don’t eat pigeon food? Hasn’t KFC always been ‘dirty bird’?? ….don’t eat KFC?
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With obesity such a huge problem in this country, it’s disappointing that ads encouraging people to eat fast food in preference to home cooking are deemed as acceptable.
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KFC are now serving pigeon? They really are the dirty bird.
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KFC….Pigeon…pretty much tastes the same. The quality of KFC fried chicken has gone waayyyy down for many years….
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Thats a bit like an ad where the young thin woman has a cigarette instead of eating and thus maintains her weight.
That would be terrible.
This is terrible.
This KFC ad was one that shouldnt have got through because it is going to make parents REALLY angry.
It will just put more pressure on the government to step in because self regulation wont.
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Another ad in this vein (I believe) is the Fantastic Furniture ad, where the guy swaps the price signs – thereby suggesting it’s ok to steal.
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I’m cool with it. Eating crackers would suck
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KFC again. Just saw the ad where the Father is teaching the son how to lie to the Mother. “I’m in the supermarket now & there out of pasta.” When he’s standing in a KFC with the boy watching. Reminded me of the series of ads on how parents teach children values by their fighting in front of them. I’m boycotting KFC.
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Better than just boycotting them if you’re sick of these ethics in their advertising, why not jump on their facebook page? It seems they don’t take much notice of it, and antagonistic comments are left up for days. You’ll be mauled by angry bogans with hardened arteries, but… well… that’s almost part of the fun.
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