Negative Viral Publicity

This post will discuss how negative publicity can be spread through viral means on the Internet. A great example of this is the Autstralian KFC ad. This ad was aired in Australia, and then uploaded on YouTube. Once American viewers saw the ad online, a storm of controversy surfaced online as consumers from different cultures interpreted the ad’s meaning and intent.

I’ve included the ad below. Here’s a summary of what the ad says: An Australian man is sitting in the stands of a game, surrounded by Caribbean fans. He says he’s in an awkward situation. His solution is to offer KFC to the other fans in the stands. They all enjoy the game together.

Americans say that the ad is racist because of the stereotypical attitudes in the USA that 1. Blacks are rowdy 2. Blacks love fried chicken. Many Americans believe this ad is racist because a white person would presume to offer chicken to rowdy blacks to ’shut them up.’ Here’s a video response by American viewers on YouTube.

Australian viewers have a completely different view of the commercial. They believe that the awkward situation the white Australian fan is in is actually because he is the only supporter of his team, and he’s surrounded by fans of the opposite team. He makes a peace offering of KFC because everyone loves KFC, and they can find common ground through food. He is no longer the odd man out, and he’s accepted. Here’s an Australian video response to the ad:

No matter what viewers think, KFC has pulled the ad from circulation in Australia.