Racist KFC Commercial?
Some oversensitive types in America are claiming that a recent commercial aired in Australia is racist. Now, on the surface I can see the problem some people in America might have with this commercial, but since this is an Australian commercial, and I personally have no idea what their society is like down there, nor do I know anything about their culture, history, and daily living experiences, it’s unfair for me to project my American prejudices upon this twenty second television commercial and shout “racism”.
As stated in the source article:
One internet poster wrote: “I wouldn’t consider this racist. Context does matter and the fried chicken thing really is an African-American stereotype thing.”
KFC Australia said of the advert: “It is a light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team.
It’s funny how certain people are quick to play the race card without taking the entirety of a situation into account, often seeing things through American eyes and never understanding that America is just one part of a larger whole that has differing opinions, ideas, and values.
Some of you people out there have got to relax a bit. Not everything you see is American-centric. If that were the case, then everyone in the world would sit down to take a crap, there would be no such thing as beer vending machines (which, IMHO, are one of God’s greatest creations), and animals would not be sacrificed during certain high holy days. Please, just get a grip on yourselves. We’re not the center of the world. The sooner you accept that fact the happier you’ll be.
I am 6’2, 200 pound, blue eyes, and dirty blond hair. Pretty much what you can expect if looking for the typical “white guy”. At lease on the surface. But due to my upbringing I am highly sensitive to racism. Nothing pisses me off more or turns me away from people than racism. I absolutely detest it.
So now that you know where I stand, I have to say that that commercial is one of the most racist things I have ever seen. First it assumes that all black people like fried chicken. I have to ask why are all the people other than the guy with the chicken black? If there was a few white people there then it would be no problem at all. Heck, I love fried chicken just as much as anyone. If someone busted out a tub of it at a match I would be all over it. ALL OVER IT!
So yes, I have to say that this is commercial racism at it best. How this every got back a review board I will never know.
But on a scale of 1-10 this is about a .5. It doesn’t project black people in a bad light at all. It just assumes an old stereotype that all black people like fired chicken. Bad yes, but equivalent to a cross burning? Not even close.
Man, I am hungry for some fried chicken now!
I totally agree. To our American eyes this commercial is absolutely racist. But, to Australian eyes this could be a silly inside joke. Much like many Japanese and German commercials I’ve seen that are extremely racist by American standards, they’re quite tame when aired within their countries of origin.
It’s funny how some cry “foul” when they see something that’s meant for a different country, never understanding how other countries feel about race relations. Why do some feel that American standards trump those of other nations?
Again, I personally see extreme racism in this commercial, but that’s because of my American standards. Question is, how do Australians of differing races view this commercial? I’d honestly like to know (I’d like to be educated about such things).
Ok ya know what i just don’t see what is racist about the ad….
Which part of it is racist ? i don’t hear him say anything bad ? Or did he ?
Well compare to that it’s nothing…..You should have seen a commercial aired in Malaysia on CNY years back and it was very stupid….
Its about a chinese family preparing for CNY and the mom gets over exicted that she paints all the things in her house red in color even her hair and she waits for her son to come back from overseas with his new GF….and when he comes in with her the mother faints because she is black…although the girl is wearing red as well….the thing is red is “ong” luck color while black is not …..so that ad i think was only aired 4 times before it got removed i think……Now that was very very direct insult ….not only for Black people but also to people of darker skin tone than chinese……i’ll give u the link if i can find it in youtube