KFC’s controversial ‘naked wrestling’ ad cleared by watchdog
The advertising watchdog has cleared a controversial KFC ad where a parent teacher interview takes an awkward turn as the teacher holds up a child’s drawing of “mum and dad naked wrestling”.
Complaints flooded into the Advertising Standards Bureau labelling the 15-second ad “ridiculous”, “inappropriate”, “degrading” and “disrespectful”.
The mother puts an end to the awkward silence by asking “Did someone say KFC?”
The fast food giant defended the ad arguing it invokes “good humoured connotations of sexuality” and does not portray sex or nudity.
“KFC does not consider that the ad is more closely referring to the act of sex than advertising the product. The image drawn by the child is clearly of a man and woman hugging in a bed and the images are stick figures without any genitalia drawn,” KFC added.
Agreeing with KFC, the Ad Standards Board said the drawing depicts stick figures and does not include any genitalia or sexual images.
“Without the caption of ‘naked wrestling’ it would not be clear from the picture that the figures were naked,” the board said.
Dismissing the complaints, the board added the reference to “naked wrestling” is “mild” considering there is a lack of imagery to accompany the text.
KFC has since uploaded an amended version of the ad with the words “Daddy has a fart trumpet”.
Ogilvy is KFC’s creative agency of record.
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Aah…common sense prevails. Funny ad and not in the least objectionable .I look forward to what else mummy and daddy get up to.
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Another flood of reporting from the new age generation of “PIRI” or Persons Inflicted with Righteous Indignation.
The explanation of clarity of meaning for the audience has been given for using the term “naked wrestling,” however, creatively speaking (and thinking) the imaginary character of the child behind the artwork, must have had a personal explanation driving the creation, and the innocent assumption of naked wrestling is a perfectly logical explanation.
Why do so many become inflamed and indignant, when ever one of the most universal and natural phenomena in the world is mentioned or eluded to?
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