The eye of the beholder

I came across this advertisement for KFC, which caused problems for KFC in the US, although it did not generate any controversy in Australia, where the ad was originally aired. Let me set the context to fully understand what this ad was all about.

The ad was aired during the cricket series between Australia and West Indies. The West Indies fans, hailing from islands all over the Caribbean, are known for their dancing and partying during the game. Also, the rivalry between Australia and West Indies on the cricket field is legendary. The ad shows an Australian (white) guy sitting in the stands with a bunch of West Indies fans. Caught in an awkward situation, he buys a bucket of KFC wings to gain the trust of the fans of the opposing team. This makes him part of the in-crowd and everybody is happy.

The Australians laughed this off as another funny ad. Thanks to Youtube, this ad got the attention of some consumer groups in the US, who started voicing protests against KFC for stereotyping African Americans by offensively portraying their love for fried chicken. They wanted the parent company, based in the US, to pull the allegedly racist ad. They even forced KFC to pull the ad from Australian television. This was met by some confused reactions from the Australians, where the offensive stereotype involving fried chicken and people of African origin, apparently does not exist.

This is a classic example of  how a lack of understanding of the context could lead to completely different reactions from different groups. For Americans, who are not aware of cricket as a popular sport, and the rivalry between Australia and West Indies, the ad seemed to be racist. When the white guy in the ad talks about an "awkward situation". the Americans misinterpreted it to be a "civilized" white guy who just want to watch the game, caught amidst some rowdy black fans who are dancing around. But, any cricket fan immediately recognizes that the guy is wearing the Australian cricket jersey, and sitting among fans of the opponent team. It is like wearing a USC jersey in the student section at Notre Dame stadium. In fact, the Australians were furious when KFC pulled the ad because, they did not want to be told by some people in the US, what was and was not appropriate in their own country.

How could marketers use this?
This is a wake-up call for marketers, who spend countless hours creating targeted marketing efforts and communication focused on a regional segment, only to find that it receives global attention thanks to the pervasive nature of social media. The world is becoming flatter and multinational corporations should keep track of reactions from a global audience. But they also need to be relevant to the regional consumer. There is a think line separating the two and marketers should be aware of this and develop content that satisfies both sets of consumers.