Last week, KFC restaurants published a full-page advertisement
in British newspapers to apologize for a chicken shortage that had
closed a number of its locations. The ad's most prominent
feature was a KFC chicken bucket with its initials rearranged
"FCK". The ad received wide acclaim on the internet for
its candor and informal audience engagement.
Our Advertising & Marketing Law Blog co-editors got together
to share their reactions.
AUGUST: When I first saw this ad, I thought it
might be a parody. Then I learned it was real, but in the UK. It
struck me that this ad could not likely have been published in the
United States, at least on a national basis. The reasons are not
legal-related. The British actually have more regulation of
truthful advertising than the United States does. Last year, for
example, the Advertising Standards Authority announced new
regulations to ban advertising that promotes gender stereotypes or
objectifies women. The ASA previously has
