KFC..The Eye of the Beholder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQfZRnqQr-k&feature=related

I thought this ad was quite interesting because it got quite a bit of buzz on the internet as being racist.  Apparently KFC was the sponsor of the cricket match between the West Indies and Australia.  When I first saw this ad I almost died because I wasn’t thinking about cricket, or about this ad in the right context at all.  Yet, after I realized it was a cricket match and an Australian cricket player was on the opposing teams stands it made a lot more sense to me.  I thought this ad was a good example of how it is so easy for advertising to get misconstrued and how imperative it is for agencies to realize that how your ad is interpreted depends on the eye of the beholder.  To an Australian, or someone who is familiar with cricket, this ad makes complete sense, but with the associations that people in the United States make about KFC fried chicken it’s a bit more confusing.  I think this ad is also a good example of how people really do look for the bad, or assume the worst, especially with all the hype concerning racial slurs etc. and how it is so important for agencies to really take this into account.