KFC Australia has pulled a television advertisement following complaints of racial insensitivity. The ad, part of a series called 'KFC's cricket survival guide', showed a white Australian cricket fan handing out fried chicken to a group of West Indian supporters to calm their drumming and singing.
The fast-food chain apologised for any offence caused, stating: '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.'
The 30-second clip, intended only for an Australian audience, sparked controversy after reaching the US via the internet. In the US, fried chicken is associated with racist stereotypes about black people from the era of segregation in the southern states.
Reaction in the US was divided, with a poll on the New York Daily News website showing 66% of respondents saw it as harmless fun, while 30% felt it played on racial stereotypes. A writer for the Baltimore Sun questioned if the ad was a spoof, calling it 'racially insensitive'.
In Australia, some commentators accused Americans of insularity. Brendon O'Connor, an associate professor at the University of Sydney, told 9 Network News that the association between fried chicken and ethnic minorities was a distinctly US issue: 'They have a tendency to think that their history is more important than that of other countries.'
The incident follows a similar controversy three months earlier, when US singer Harry Connick Jr objected to a skit on Australian television show 'Hey, Hey It's Saturday' featuring performers with blacked-up faces mimicking the Jackson Five.
