A bizarre KFC advert has attracted criticism for allegedly mocking baptism and for using inappropriate religious imagery.
The advert depicts a group of people living in a forest or jungle with a semi-tribal aesthetic.
To the beat of drums in the background, the tribe continually carries and drops a giant golden egg before coming to a golden lake, which turns out to be a lake of gravy.
One person, who for reasons unknown is as stiff as a plank, and is lowered completely into the lake of gravy.
When he emerges, he is a piece of fried chicken, prompting much celebration from the rest of the tribe. The advert closes with the words “Believe in Chicken” in large red letters.
Almost 600 people have submitted complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). While some complainants took issue with the apparent mockery of baptism in the advert, others detected more sinister overtones.
A commenter on Marketing Beat described the piece as “disgraceful”, adding that it promotes “cultism, cannibalism and grooming”.
The advert was developed by advertising agency Mother and is part of KFC’s “Believe” campaign, currently running in Britain.
KFC has described the advert as a “modern-day fable”, with the company’s chief marketing officer for Britain and Ireland, Monica Silic, telling Adweek that the “Believe” campaign is intended to bring “lightness and levity to the chaotic world”.
The ASA has yet to issue a ruling on the complaints against the advert.
It is rare for the ASA to ban advertisements on the grounds that it offends Christians, although it has happened.
In 2008 the ASA banned a number of adverts by beauty brand Ghd. The general theme of the adverts was lingerie-clad ladies praying for perfect hair from “Ghd”. In some adverts the ladies were apparently praying with clasped hands or using what looked like rosary beads. The display finished with “Thy will be done”.
