Americans call Australian KFC ad racist. Who cares?
An interesting point of view from Businesspundit.com
Does an American company have a responsibility to avoid producing content that would be racially sensitive in America in other countries? I don’t think so. There are no global regulations or even de facto laws against delivering ads that one country (but not another) finds racist, so KFC can choose to advertise whatever it wants outside of its home country. If West Indians and Australians find the ad offensive, then the company needs to do something about it. If Chinese, Brazilians, Armenians, or Americans find the ad offensive, that doesn’t obligate KFC to do anything about it.
The ad isn’t targeted at Americans. It operates in a completely different cultural context. What we find offensive might not be offensive to West Indians and Australians at all. So why implicate an American-based multinational for tweaking its campaigns to the countries in which it operates? It’s part of doing business in those countries.
