Outrage as KFC's 'naked wrestling' parent-teacher interview ad causes flood of complaints
A KFC commercial featuring a child's drawing of two parents "naked wrestling" has led to a raft of complaints, prompting an investigation by the advertising standards board.
The ad, which tells the story of a mum and dad being asked about the drawing in a parent-teacher interview, has been put into the advertising watchdog's sights after 30 complaints were made about its sexual content, The Herald Sun reports.
The parents sit speechless in the classroom with their child's drawing of two people presumably engaged in a sexual act held in front of them, until the mother asks, "Did someone say KFC?"
But the ad, released as part of fast food outlet's summer ad campaign, has since been altered to show a drawing of daddy's "fart trumpet".
Among the complaints made about the original ad were a number of concerned adults who asserted it would subject children to content that was overly suggestive and sexualised.
KFC bosses have defended the ad while the Advertising Standards Bureau assesses it, with the newspaper reporting its findings are expected to be handed down in the coming week.
The restaurant chain said it intended for the commercial to represent relatable, real-life situations.
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"KFC has strict review and approval processes in place to ensure all creative work adhere to relevant codes and standards," said KFC's chief marketing officer Angela Richards.
"In this case the Advertising Standards Bureau has decided that the advertisement and associated posts in question do not breach the AANA's (Australian Association of National Advertisers) code of ethics."
The ASB states the relevant section of AANA code concerning the ad relates to "sex, sexuality and nudity with sensitivity to the relevant audience".
It's not the first time an Australian KFC commercial has courted controversy after a 2010 commercial featuring Caribbean cricket fans was accused of being racist for its tone-deaf stereotypes by those who saw it in North America.
KFC Australia at the time said the ad was "light-hearted reference to the West Indian cricket team" and it had been "misinterpreted by a segment of people in the US", the Guardian reported at the time.
