An Australian KFC ad has caused considerable controversy for promoting “boys will be boys” attitudes and misogynistic viewpoints, critics claim. The fast-food giant was forced to apologize over a 15-second commercial which shows young boys staring at a woman’s chest with open mouths, and while it may seem harmless enough, many people aren’t very happy.
- The commercial was to promote the Zinger Popcorn meal. In the ad, a young girl is posing and checking herself out in the reflection of a car’s windows. However, a few seconds later, the window of the car is rolled down, showing two young boys and a woman who appears to be their mother gawping at her chest.
- It’s unclear what the commercial actually has to do with KFC. The sexist clip seemingly has no ties to KFC or food at all, except for when the girl awkwardly exclaims, “Did someone say KFC?” when she sees the boys and their mother staring at her chest. What was the point of this?
- People really aren’t happy with this. A group called Collective Shout said the commercial was a “regression to tired and archaic stereotypes where young women are sexually objectified for male pleasure,” according to Sky News, and they’re not entirely wrong. They added: “Ads like this reinforce the false idea that we can’t expect better from boys. It is another manifestation of the ‘boys will be boys’ trope, hampering our ability to challenge sexist ideas which contribute to harmful behavior towards women and girls.”
- It might seem innocent but it’s not. While this may just seem like a stupid fast food commercial, research proves that presenting women in this way can be really harmful. “The research is solid: attitudes shape behavior,” a statement from Collective Shout continued. “A growing number of reports show how reinforcing of gender stereotypes – including in advertising – contributes to a lesser view of women, resulting in their mistreatment.”
- KFC has apologized for the sexist commercial. ” “We apologize if anyone was offended by our latest commercial. Our intention was not to stereotype women and young boys in a negative light,” they said in a statement. However, the ad still remains on their YouTube page, so it seems like words are pretty cheap here.