This KFC commercial has the internet goin' nuts right about now. It is so offensive, some are even calling for a boycott. Have a look.
I've seen the commercial several times, but didn't see anything particularly heinous about it. Sure, there's a black woman being depicted as a single mom with 3 kids. Is there really anything inherently insulting about that?
Some say the commercial is stereotypical and therefore offensive because it shows a black family without a Dad. I see a black(ish) woman with three kids who appear to be reasonably well behaved sitting down to enjoy a greasy wholesome dinner at the end of a long day of school/work. Reality is, with 70% of black kids being born to unwed parents, and half of black households headed by a single parent, this depiction is closer to reality than showing a two parent household eating Taco Bell. Sad, but true.
If there's anything moderately offensive, it's the oldest son's Lenny Kravitzy hairdo. What kid actually wears that kinda Boondocks lookin' iddish on his head? And yeah, there's also a low level of racial politricks going on with the casting. At least the oldest kid "looks" like he could be a child of the mother, the others are a completely different hue altogether. This could be a mere oversight, or maybe it could be KFC doing some subtle pandering.
Whatever the case, I just can't get too upset about this, considering how bad some KFC commercials have been in the past, this one should win an NAACP Image Award. Does anyone else remember that infamous "Dancin' For Popcorn Chicken" commercial M.C. Hammer did in the early 90's?
Either way, I just can't get too worked up about this one. Maybe folks are upset at the lethal combo of the single parent Mom and fried chicken. Would there be as much outrage if this were an Olive Garden commercial? How come nobody's equally as pissed about that coon Tony Sinclair from those Tangueray commercials? Bruce Bruce's awful Popeye's ads made me cry inside. And don't even get me started about those cringe-inducing Snoop/Lee Iacoca Chrysler spots. Mocacoca this, Snoop!
Sorry, maybe I'm just missing it, but I don't see anything wrong with this KFC ad. If you're a fellow blogger (I'm talkin' to you plez) and care to weigh in, drop your links you-know-where.
Monday, November 5, 2007
KFC Commercial: Hidden Racism or Just Lazy Casting?!?!
Tags Popped: Drive-By Activism, Grand Hu$tle, Raise Your Own Damn Kids, Web Junk
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Average Email
Average FAQ
Average Bio
AB @ AOL BlackVoices
AB @ NPR
AB @ WashingtonPost
Posts
27 AverageComments™:
You know, sometimes I see commercials like these and I get really annoyed. But I have to ask, why am I annoyed? Advertisers try to relate to their target audiences. They often study demographic trends to do so. If I'm upset that the world views Black fathers as absent, who's to blame. White media and ad agencies? Or black fathers who shirk their responsibilities.
Maybe we shouldn't boycott KFC so much as we should figure out what's the deal with our brothers. Sorry folks. This one hurts so much because it's true.
It's been taken down. :-(
Taken down already? It doesn't upset me... Its actually missing the bullet proof counter glass and secured 'drive-up- carousel that the 'KFC's' I frequent actually have...let's not pick on just 'KFC'. IMO-any portrait of the 'nuclear' Black family is unfortuately hard to distort- 'Truth is Truth' meaning why dispute the facts? And people are more outraged over this a (commercial) then other recent headlines- ie 'Dunbar Village'... Why??? Some of us still don't know which 'battlea' to fight...
I'm definitely having a hard time seeing what the big deal is. The word is out. Almost 70% of black children now grow up in single-parent homes. Advertisers know this, the same way we do. They are obviously just appealing to their target demographic. I agree with i.l.l. about this one being a case of the truth hurting. There is alot of subliminal racism in advertising and in on T.V. in general but we have to be careful to pick our battles or they will just tune us out. The fact that black people let this get to us over the other fifty reasons to boycott KFC, that tells us that this commercial is the least of our problems.
I am kinking to your site, brother...
Keep up the good work..
i meant *linking* to your site..
While the stats say the overwhelming majority of black households are helmed by single women, there is nothing that says they must be depicted by the media as such. White people depict themselves the way they want to be percieved, not reality. Case in point "Friends" or "Sex in the City" or the myriad other programs that show thin white people who never work with a lot of money. Only blacks have to "keep it real".
It was not offensive to me either...There are so many other things on tv to be offended by that this does not even make the top 10.
I am offended by the elitist house nicca mentality of this blog and most of these comments. Of course this commercial is racist and stereotypical!!! Would Quiznos show an ad with a Jewish family sitting around a table counting money? Of course not! So why is it ok to stereotype blacks in the name of selling chicken wings?
Wake up black people!
As a culture I feel that many are starting to look for racism, and I mean look hard. Have you ever noticed that whenever companies do product comparisons in there commercials they always give us the better product to hold. Are we that weak in spirit that to see a black person holding the generic sandwich bag and the white guy holding the name brand that our feelings are hurt and thus the company is racist? Being worried about subliminal racism is like being afraid of the dark.
http://www.tomboutus.com
" domo said...
I am offended by the elitist house nicca mentality of this blog and most of these comments. Of course this commercial is racist and stereotypical!!!"
Domo,
thats fine for you to feel that way, although I would like to hear your explanation on what makes the commentary to this point"elitist". To address you're statement, no one has said that it is O.K. for them to do stereotype black people.In fact, just about everything on the in the Jewish controlled media involving blacks is racist and negative, which is exactly why before we get all fired about about one KFC commercial we need to focus on eliminating larger more harmful stereotypes from the media including the ones we perpetuate ourselves. We already know that most advertising is racist, in fact when these people decide who to advertise the main criteria is race. They will never feel anyway about stereotypical commercials about involving blacks because they know that we will spend our dollars with them anyway. Is there a channed more stereotypical of blacks than BET? The Al Sharpton philosophy of wasting our energy crying over one commercial (from a place where blacks should not be eating anyway) instead of styaing focused on the dozens of more serious 10,000 more in the black community is exactly what the real racists want us to do. It's getting a soldiers getting mad cause his uniform is wrinkled while he is fighting a war. Our "black leaders have enabled enough of this type of bullshit practice already. So getting fired up enough to dismiss the commenters on this issue "house niggers" without first analyzing what was said is the most "house niggerish" thing you could have done to help the racist establishment. If black folks cannot be critical of our own actions, then how are things going to change? And yes, you are right..black people do need to wake up!
Unbreakable,
There are many where some are looking for or expecting racism..that's cause its so easy to find. It's not hard to see that the premise of this commercial is race. Race issues (in all matters) have been and always will be sown deep into fabric of American Society. I don't think we should be letting things like this distract us but it is important that we are ready and able to identify racism at a glance so that the "Dog the Bounty Hunter"s of the world can't shock us.
Peace
*error in last comment**
"" instead of styaing focused on the dozens of more serious 10,000 more in the black community is exactly what the real racists want us to do.""
that should have been
instead of styaing focused on the dozens of more serious issues in the black community is exactly what the real racists want us to do..
sorry folks - doing three things at once
Domo,
That a majority of black families are headed by a single parent, usually the mother, is a fact. That Jews sit around all day counting money is a stereotype. Are you saying that the stereotype is the black family eating fried chicken? Because if KFC refused to air ads with black people in them, I'm sure we'd call that racism too.
See the thing is, I get bothered by these commercials. I get bothered that people think in order to reach us, they need to portray "broken" families. But then, I get sad, because I know that it's the sad truth. Is it worth fighting KFC, or is it more appropriate to be mentoring our young men to be responsible, present fathers?
Wow- I'm so blown away by this. My first impression when I saw the commercial was that the dad was at work- SERIOUSLY! My male colleagues pull such long hours, I wonder if they ever make it home to eat with their families... I never thought of this commercial as racist. I just saw it as a nice middle class black family with a mom who probably works (given the fact that she brought KFC home for dinner) but who gets home early enough to eat with the kids. Dad is just working hard at the corporate job or something and regularly gets home @ 8:00. Call me dissolusioned but that interpretation is totally realistic to me.
But I must respond to your "look-alike" theory, AVB. You KNOW we folks all look different...any family gathering could be labeled a meeting of the "rainbow coalition".
Obviously there's a lot of delusion among the readers and authors of this site.
This sort of house nicca mentality is why we as a people cannot get ahead. We can't even all agree that this commercial is stereotypical and offensive as hell.
I have nothing more to add on this topic. Yall keep right on enjoying them hotwings while the whiteman laughs all the way to the bank at yall.
House nicca bamas.
domo, you need Jesus. Badly.
deedee, I disagree somewhat. Subtle color coding in terms of how commercials especially are casted isn't new. Peep the excellent book "America in Black and White", which breaks down this whole thing to a science. Them kids don't look nothin' alike. At best, this lady has two different baby daddies, which is sorta offensive when you think about it..
On the other hand, at least the little girl was brownskinned, which is pretty amazing/progressive in and of itself. When's the last time you saw that in a commercial?
I also don't think there was any intent of presenting this as anything other than a single mom feeding her kids. She isn't wearing a wedding ring, and there are exactly 4 seats at the table. Daddy(ies) ain't workin' late, and he(they) ain't comin' home no time soon.
Either way, this still ain't offensive, and in fact, it must be working cause I got the taste for a Buffalo Snacker right about now.
Interesting comments, tho. I didn't know so many people could see something quite simple in so many complex ways.
who has the time or wherewithal to disect commercials?
Domo,
If you were reading, you would have seen that many people did agree that the commercial wwas obviously driven by race. That doesn't mean that everyone has to agree to be offended by it, or agree on anything else for that matter. that is why it is called a discussion.
to be honest, the REAL reason why we cannot get ahead is becasue people like yourself not only don't have the ability to focus on what is important but also have nothing to offer in the way of diffusing the issues besides ranting and raving about nonsense. If the commercial offends you so much, why don't you elaborate on why? You really haven't said anything noteworthy to this point to support your stance. I was raised in a single family home, and while it is not ideal,it is a reality in the black community today. So, instead of insisting that everyone on this board agree with you that they should be offended, why don't we focus on ways to change the things that these advertisers are preying on? If you are so pissed off, Why don't you present an idea in the way of a solution or some sort of catalyst for change? Why don't you at the very least lend some kind original or analytical thought to the debate? Or maybe, you're just some dumb kid, whose role in the black community is to allow the establishment to manipulate you inot marching with token Negro leaders like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson at the drop of a hat. This commercial offends you so much, yet you don't seem too offended to use the same racist names to describe your own people, that your bosses still use to describe you behind your back. Maybe it's just best that you don't have anything more to say on the topic or on anything beyond the realm of ignorant name calling. Obviously, you don't anything significant to say anyway.
Peace
AVB,
Jesus is what got us here in the first place!
Cmon people, is this really all that serious that we get in heated debates, call each other everything but children of God, and raise a huge fuss over a :30 spot that depicts nothing more than an actual segment of our population and society? I ask again, is it really all that serious? For one, by everyone, especially you AB, to make all the assumptions that she's unmarried and has numerous baby daddies is more offensive than what the original gripe is about---that scene played out in my house growing up almost 5 nights a week:
of my six siblings, we range in complexions from the darkest to the latest, we all don't look exactly alike, and our father who was a teacher, a coach, and wore numerous hats in the community usually didn't make it home in time to eat with the family, so even if the scene in the commercial didn't reflect something that you were accustomed to or even have experienced, to jump all over it and throw labels and the often over-used racially offensive neon banner is nonsensical in my opinion. Noone makes anything of the Ford Hybrid commercial with the SINGLE white father getting in the car, talking with his daughter, or the one with the SINGLE white mother taking her three girls out for a day of surfing (forget what company that was for), cause we just all assume that since they're white, their lives are perfect, marriages intact, children healthy and happy, and all the stereotypes that we place on white America, when in fact, they have broken families, divorce, and every other thing that plagues our societal structure as a whole.
I can even think of a KFC commercial when they were pushing the variety buckets, a white mother called off to each of her children what they (I believe there were 3) would favor from the myriad of foods offered, and there was no mention of a father, and what red falgs or alarms did that send off? Let's refocus our priorities here people.
True indeed, there definitely needs to be a rebuilding and reclaiming of our familes and communities by the group most capable of achieving that: black men, but is attacking and pondering over a worthless, trivial thing like a chicken commercial really doing anything?
I think---know not.
It really all boils down to perception.
I'm even tired of writing about something so(loss of adjective).
Boo-Hiss on the real plights.
P.S. I hear you i.l.l & Dee-Dee! Great comments!
Naw, nicca. YOU need Jesus.
Did anyone notice the wedding ring on her finger?Left hand + gold band usually equals a wedding ring.
I don't find this commercial offensive at all. It's nice to see a family that looks like mine sit down and have dinner. And if you look at most commercials that target mothers (Lysol, Pampers, Playskool), the husband is usually not there, black or white.
Pick ya battles people.
If one is a 'patron' of KFC- I don't think anything said here
(or on TV) will stop us. I make my own decisions because I can. And I'm not ashamed to admit that sometimes I'll travel purposely to a 'white' area's KFC- just because I want good chicken without all the 'extras' I sometimes have to deal with at a 'black' area's KFC. KFC.
AverageOne,
i feel like i'm kind of late to your party... i didn't know that you'd given me a shout out/challenge to speak on this topic (next time you gotta include a link back to plezWorld). *smile*
my objection to this commercial did not come from any long drawn out analysis of the ad... it came from a quick knee-jerk reaction to seeing a commercial that seemingly justified (normalized and even glorified) a single mother with a gaggle of children! i know at least 70% of our Black children are being raised without benefit of two parents (usually an absentee father), but i'll be damned if i'm going to support or patronize a company that makes it their business to sell fried chicken on the backs of the misery of our community.
the Black community is bad off enough without the likes of KFC pimping us for the remaining crumbs of dignity that we have. to my way of thinking, they should have had a father in this "family commercial". it's just that simple for me.
if the commercial didn't offend you, that is fine and you are welcome to your opinion. me and many others like me who have called and written KFC with complaints were offended by the commercial.
where i live, there are MANY other fried chicken joints that i can use to help clog my arteries... i'll let the others have my money. *smile*
Bro. Plez,
Well stated (as usual). I think we differ on a few points, but I get where you're coming from and respect your opinion.
AvB
Ok, so everyone is getting hopped up on the fact that this is a (seemingly) single mother raising three kids. Frankly, this is an absolutely beautiful picture. Why? Well, first of all, we have three kids who seem very well behaved. They are shown as being well groomed and neat. There is also the fact that they are SITTING DOWN FOR A MEAL!!! This simply doesn't happen anymore. While all these parents are out there making youtube, MTV and BET raise their kids, this mother is taking time out of her day to sit and eat and talk to her kids about what they did that day. This is what's missing from society, not what's wrong with it. She even mentioned that this time was the highlight of her day. As far as positive family values go right now, this is it. How many of you on here as parents have regular family time, in the midst of hectic schedules and trying to make ends meet and whatnot? If you do, kudos, I would also love to know whether you see it as being an important part of daily life.
Every topic on here seems to be about race. If you go under every rock looking for a surprise, soon enough you'll find one.
I am an African American woman who, after my divorce, raised four children alone. I never went out for KFC but many times I did bring home some Chinese food or pizza which I ate with my kids, while we caught up on their schoolday, etc. -- I viewed the commercial as saying, "This is the best time of my day because I didn't have to cook and I'm sitting here enjoying the company of my children." I didn't notice the wedding ring so, I just viewed the commercial as being "inclusive" in terms of acknowledging there are single parent familes and the fact that it was a black family made me say, "Cool! Some black actors are getting paid. Got some residuals coming in. Good for them." And I was very thankful they weren't depicted doing something silly. -- The parts they played could have easily gone to some other people group. KFC didn't HAVE to cast black actors. -- TV/movies are depicting more single parents these days. Single parents are a fact of life. I first noticed the single parent casting thing back when ET was made. -- Finally, black people don't have the market cornered on eating fried chicken. Eating fried chicken is, by now, considered as American as apple pie.
"deedee said...
Wow- I'm so blown away by this. My first impression when I saw the commercial was that the dad was at work- SERIOUSLY!"
muwahhahahahahah.... a black man at work??!?!?!!??? That IS funny
Post a Comment