Several consumers and writers have accused KFC of being racist in a recent Australian advertisement for the brand. The ad, which is online, depicts a white Australian cricket fan feeling uncomfortable surrounded by black West Indian cricket fans. He then diffuses the situation with KFC food. Bloggers and writers have criticized the advertisement, but the company said it was taken out of context in the US. The Guardian reported:
Another on-line commentator, Jack Shepherd of BuzzFeed, asks: "What's a white guy to do when he finds himself in a crowd full of black folks? KFC has the answer."
KFC Australia has come out fighting, saying that the commercial was a "light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team" that had been "misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US."
The company said: "The ad was reproduced online in the US without KFC's permission, where we are told a culturally-based stereotype exists, leading to the incorrect assertion of racism.
