KFC Chicken salad


Date: January 1, 1970
  • SHARE:

The Billboard shows a woman with long hair in a dancing position advertising KFC Chicken salad. The picture has clearly been poached from somewhere else and put in the middle of lettuce leaves

This advertisement may be used to 
1. Provide an example of a blatant gender stereotype in an advertisement.
2. Show how packaging can contribute to stereotyping.
 
Trainer’s notes
In the Mirror on the Media Advertising research conducted by GL both the women and the men found that the advertisement has nothing to do with the product and they would not buy the product being advertised. All six men in the focus group said the woman is clearly being used as an object. The woman in a dancing pose has nothing to do with the salad. One man found the advertisement discriminatory to men as it gives the impression that men do not care about their health and do not eat salad. One woman felt that the advertisement could have been used to sensitise men to healthy eating.
 
All the six women in the focus group found that the advertisement is using the woman as an object. One woman said “fam la enn salad” (the woman is a salad). Although the woman is decently dressed and engaged in a beautiful dancing movement, she is represented as a sex symbol.
 
Instead of showing that salad is good for the whole family, men, women and children the advertisement reinforces gender stereotypes. It reinforces the general impression that only women care for their weight and eat salad to look beautiful. Hence the slogan “KFC chicken salad makes me feel good”. The advertisement targets only a certain class of woman.
 
Discussion Questions
1. Ask participants How could this advertisement have been done differently?
2. Had the advertisement shown another picture would it have been more beneficial to KFC? Why? What kind of picture would you suggest?
3. Does this advertisement exclude men from healthy food? Why?
 
Training Exercises
1. Review magazines/ newspapers for other advertisments related to healthy living to analyse whether there are gender based trends found.
2. If available, visit a local KFC (or other fast food establishment) to enquire about eating habits of customers based on gender.

Additional training resources

Picture our Lives, Gender and Images in Southern Africa, Chapter three: Sex, Gender and Stereotypes
 


Download : KFC Chicken saladWEB

Comment on KFC Chicken salad

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *