The new KFC Australian advertising campaign starring TV icon Plucka Duck that launched last month has come under the scrutiny of concerned parents.
The ad features Plucka Duck, who earned television fame with his role on the 90s program "Hey Hey It's Saturday," riding a skateboard down an epic New Zealand road, surrounded by an arid, mountainous setting. The song 'Surfin Bird' by the Trashmen plays throughout.
"I am objecting to this ad," wrote one concerned parent to the Advertising Standards Bureau (ASB), according to AdNews, "as Plucka Duck is a human dressed in a costume and I think skateboarding on a road is dangerous where a person can get killed if and when a car comes. The ad may have made it safe for him to do, but youngsters will go out and copy him as he is an icon for them."
The 60-second ad begins with a disclaimer stating it was, "Filmed overseas under supervised, controlled conditions on a closed road with a professional stunt performer wearing appropriate safety gear."
The ASB has shot down ads featuring skateboarding before that show skateboarders with no safety protection. The watchdog agency, however, let KFC slide this time.
"The scenes in the advertisement are so unrealistic that it is highly unlikely that viewers would replicate or mimic Plucka Duck's actions in real life," said KFC, according to Smart Company. It marks the first ad campaign in which the American fast food chain has departed from product-based advertising.
The reaction towards the Australian add acts as a measure between cultures both geographically and socially. U.S. viewers - used to the comparatively lax advertising regulations - would not bat an eye at this ad. The epic skateboarding, some argue, would not only encourage young people to skateboard, but it will reinforce the community that already does so.
