KFC 'sorry' for NSFW 'Hot & Spicy' twitter ad which was deleted within an hour
KFC's latest marketing stunt has landed it in hot water with Twitter users, who forced the fried chicken chain to remove a post promoting its 'Hot & Spicy' range
The innuendo-laden tweet, which featured a grinning couple sitting on a sofa while the woman reaches into what looks to be a pixilated bucket of chicken wings, was dubbed "disturbing" and a "cock up" by followers.
The message was deleted less than an hour after being posted from the restaurant's official Australia account yesterday (14 April), after several users remarked on the what they believed to be the inappropriate nature of the post.
I wish 1) I wasn't vegetarian and 2) I didn't insist on eating real food, so I could boycott @KFCAustralia for promoting misogyny.
— Casey Phoenix (@caseyphoenix) April 15, 2016
@KFCAustralia @xovro WHAT THE HELL — Bezel-less (@BezelLess) April 14, 2016
KFC Australia posted a seriously disturbing tweet
— Olivia Claire (@OClaire1029671) April 15, 2016
Real poor form with your social media @KFCAustralia What a cock up!!! @RealTimFerguson @ABCmediawatch @CookSuck pic.twitter.com/b0nBptEDXW — Funkosis (@langmonster) April 15, 2016
Others took it with a pinch of salt putting their own spin on the campaign, and pointing out that the concept was not new.
all i’m saying is that it works with a lot of @KFCAustralia ads pic.twitter.com/6H9FLbPzKw — ☹ Illy Bocean ☹ (@IllyBocean) April 15, 2016
KFC stole the idea from this McDonalds ad where a woman is giving her boyfriend a big mac pic.twitter.com/vc3sVuhTM2 — Reid Parker (@ReidParker_) April 15, 2016
None the less, the company was quick to react and swiftly removed the tweet, stating: "We are very sorry this occurred – we didn’t mean to offend and removed the post as soon as we realised we’d made an error in judgment."
"The post was meant to be a roll-out of our new Hot & Spicy products but we overstepped the mark and are sorry for any offence caused," it added.