I’ll admit that I cringe a little every time I see a black person on TV enjoying a piece of fried chicken. Of course I know that I shouldn’t, but I also know that stereotypes are alive and well in this world, and new ones are be created as you read this. In addition I know that plenty of white folk love them some fried chicken. Look at Justin Timberlake. Hell the Colonel himself is a white dude! Still, after every KFC commercial I see featuring black people I’m left wondering about the “black jokes” that these images still evoke. I personally can’t recall ever being offended by their ads, which overall seem fine to me. However, the other night a new KFC commercial featuring a black family left me pondering another stereotype.
Sitting around a small table munching on some good ol’ fried chicken was a mother and her three adorable kids. No dad. I caught the commercial again last night, tried to count the chairs around the table and only came up with four. “Where’s daddy’s chair,” I asked out loud to no one in particular. This prompted me to go to You Tube to see if the ad was posted. It wasn’t, but I found a pretty strange commercial from 1980 starring the “perfect” black family. There were even a few others on the website that I remembered from my youth. All the commercials were OK as far as advertising goes (aside from the fact the the black family was really concerned about the price of fast food).
All this intense research and analysis made me wonder where dad was. Maybe he was doing a double shift at the office. Maybe he was in the living room watching football with a bucket of original recipe in his lap. Perhaps he died from prostate cancer. Or was just stuck in traffic. Or maybe the doting dad was Christmas shopping. Or maybe, just maybe, this commercial is a deep fried sign of the times.
You know, I catch stuff like that too, so does my wife. I wonder if that was an on purpose call of the marketing folks, or just an oversight?
Funny, I was just reading something about stereotypes in advertising. The example they used was much more blatant, and was obviously printed in a different era.
The scariest part about the whole thing is that my initial reaction was to write it off as the backwards thinking of a distant time, but then the author points out that nearly half of the Supreme Court was alive at the time that the ad came out.
Crazy.
Wow. KFC, or whatever they’re calling themselves today, probably thinks its a great example of a black family and could probably trot some PR person out to talk about how family comes in lots of different incarnations these days, including single mothers with three kids. And yes, families do look like that, but how often do we see that same scenario if the “family” is not black? Hmm…
I gotta wonder how much time some committee sat around debating what kind of family to portray. I guess advertisers think people enjoy being stereotyped and squished into pigeonholes.
I saw that commercial and wondered that too…Thanks for bringing up the thought…then again…I don’t eat KFC much..
I caught that commercial today and wondered the same thing. Let’s hope he’s at work…
I saw that commercial and also noticed that there was no chair for a dad…but the mom had a ring on her left ring finger if I caught that right…hmmmmm…is she a widow…did the dad die from too much fried chicken???
Why’d I have to read this right AFTER we had fried chicken for dinner this evening. We don’t do fried foods, but I was SO in the mood. LOL
I thought the SAME thing when i saw the commercial . 1st time and 2nd time I was like oh, there is no dad….
Okay then – it’s not just me. I thought the same thing. And then I found myself trying to watch the commercial to see if he was in the background somewhere – ya know, piling additional food on his plate, washing the dishes, something. Nope, not so much. I’m with TPJ – Daddy must still be at work.
Interesting. My first thought was, “Wow, this isn’t your typical tv “fast-food” Black family. No singing, rapping, dancing, acting goofy, or silly facial contortions. And they’re actually seated together and having a normal conversation. But like most everyone else, my next thought was, “Okay, so where’s the daddy at?”
If this is inappropriate or off-topic , I’m sorry.
Did Johnsons’ ?War on Poverty? 1965 subsidize fathers away from their families?
Shitty job, no hope… government pays single moms x amount of dollars… father moves out of the home to make ends meet….etc?
I know before the 60’s, the chances of an African American living with both parents was around the same as whites.
The same pattern is repeated globally with… (surprise! surprise!) the same results. Doesn’t this suggest the state of black america today is a result rather then a race thing.
BTW, hereditary differences (if any) should show themselves in levels of discomfort. ie elevated levels of fear when camping (when compared to North American Indian)– completely different wild-life.
(after the fact, you’re a dad for life, whether some one wants to grant you that right, or not)
I saw that commercial and wondered the same thing. And then I wondered if I was being critical since I work in advertising or just overly sensitive as a Black person and the roles being portrayed. Not to say that single mothers aren’t a reality but that was a bit of a shock. I didn’t see a “daddy” chair, for the record but I will check a little more closely the next time I see it.
My wife and I saw the same commercial a few weeks ago; we actually paused the program we were watching and replayed the commercial two or three times! I’ve only seen it that one time, but we were taken aback by the “hidden racism” that is so prevalent in so many aspects of the media! Like you, I tried to find it on YouTube, because I had planned to post it on my blog.
I have started a personal BOYCOTT of KFC as a result… that commercial had me steaming! I will have to be one HUNGRY Negro to EVER cross the threshhold or buck up in the drive-thru of another KFC, for as long as I live.
How in the HELL is KFC going to air/broadcast such an offensive and racially biased commercial of a Black family without at father! I still cannot get over the fact that in 2007, I am seeing negative images of Black families shown on prime time television! How many WHITE and BLACK families have seen that commercial and thought in the back of their minds how NORMAL that must be in our community… I am sick!!!
Like most people here I also saw the ad and noticed the absent father. What was most interesting to me was the advertisement immediately before the KFC ad was Dominos showing a white family coming home to a pizza dinner that Daddy lovingly had set out all ready for them. Having them played back to back the impact of the missing father really hit me. Why did KFC think it was necessary to have an absent black father? Is it a more realistic reflection of the state of the black family in their opinion? Did they screen this ad with black customers? It pissed me off.
I saw the commercial for the 1st time 2 days ago, and I was confused at first because I thought that I wasn’t seeing things clearly. I thought to myself, ” Well, maybe I missed the Dad when the camera panned the table the first time.” But the camera circled the table again and just as I thought, no Dad.
My first reaction was shock and disappointment with KFC. My initial thought was that this was racist. Then I thought as a single mom, that this table reflected my dinner table, for the most part. What makes this wrong is that we do not need KFC to make social commentaries about one particular demographic. If they want to be “inclusive” then they need to run similar ads with various family structures..the white family with the stay at home dad and the high power attorney mom, 2 professional black parents with children, the family with same sex partners, and so on and so on…
As far as the boycott, I think we should boycott KFC, not because of the racist advertising, but because that crap is just not good for you!!! Move away from the drumstick!
Hi – I was struck when I saw this commercial too and immediately looked to see what people on the internet were saying about it – I was sure I wasn’t the only one wondering what they were trying to say. I did find the video link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBAPwpr-Fd4
Anyway – I am SURE that KFC was not trying to antagonize black people, even though it is certainly a negative situation that is not ideal and people wish wasn’t promoted. My best guess is they showed the single mother with her three adorable, happy, well adjusted kids – doing one of the healthiest family things possible – sharing a meal together, talking about their day – something that is lost from a LOT of American families of every demographic these days – and they’re saying that instead of the single black mother and kids being hidden and felt sorry for, they can be promoted as examples of a healthy family practicing traditional values and living complete lives regardless of the reality of what is missing.
I really think that had to be their thinking, that it was a showing of the strength of the black family, whatever form it is taking. But it was a terrible error in judgment because clearly NOBODY is taking it that way, and I really had to think it through to figure out why they would show such a scenario in such an overboard positive, old-fashioned traditional light. I think they were trying to give props to the single black mother who DOES pull it all together so well. Unfortunately, it is only making people feel bad and confused about their message.
The sad part is that if the people depicted were white would it still be racist cause kfc doesn’t use black actors? Frankly people, if you’re looking for racial discrimination you’ll find it everywhere.