Knowing the F*&%ing Consumer...

A little boy is in school working on his arithmetic.

TEACHER: Imagine there are 5 blackbirds sitting on a fence. You pick up your BB gun and shoot one. How many blackbirds are left?"

LITTLE BOY: (thinks for a momemnt) "NONE!"

TEACHER: "None -- how do you figure that?"

LITTLE BOY: "If I shoot one, all the other birds will fly away scared, leaving none on the fence."

TEACHER: "Hmmmm, not exactly, but I do like the way you think!"

LITTLE BOY: "Teacher, can I ask you a question?

TEACHER: "sure, what is it?"

LITTLE BOY: There are 3 women sitting on a park bench eating ice cream cones. One is licking her cone, another is biting it, and the third one is sucking it. How can you tell which one of the women is married?"

The teacher ponders the question uncomfortably and then finally replies..

TEACHER: "Well, I guess the one sucking her cone."

LITTLE BOY: "Actually, it's the one with the wedding ring, but I do like the way YOU think!!"...



Mmmmm..... Im back as I had promised and this time with a review of some interesting Ads that evoked controversy in 2006.

It seems the guys who have invented controversy are the Ready to eat-KFC-pizzahut-noodles-drinks category.. God knows what the Marketing Gurus call it but my search for controversy has ended here.

A review in BBC.CO.UK says " The most complained about advert in television history ( a record 1671 complaints ) does not contain sex, violence or bad language. But call centre workers singing with their mouths full of Zinger Crunch Salads angered hundreds of parents battling to instil manners in their children"...the ad is accused of promoting bad manners in the western world which is battling with the problem of the young falling into bad manners and even adoring them, particularly lunch table manners and etiquettes...while someothers say that it is just fun and humour and the critics are just discovering a mountain out of a molehill....The ASA- Advertising Standards Authority, the watch dog in UK sided with the latter opinion and felt that the moral values and etiquettes are not that feeble and soft for an ad to be shown for all of them to be washed out....

See what a Teacher( who has the duty to shape the new gen) says: Im appalled at the ASA's decision about this advert not encouraging bad manners. As a primary school teacher I spend much of my time trying to promote good manners in my children and at meal times in particular......

mmmm....if you think that was harsh..see this one....

I think the advert is pretty disgusting. It is never pleasant to "see" people talking with their mouths full and therefore possibly spitting bits out. Personally it makes me feel sick. The ad certainly wouldn't send me rushing into KFC.....

while a supporter says...It's an advert not some educational documentary shown in schools. Have the people in this country all had a sense of humour transplant? All people seem to do is moan about stuff on TV. Just take it for what it is - a good old laugh.....

And another one here...This latest complaint against KFC is another appalling display of mind numbing pettiness perpetrated by embittered middle Englanders with too much time on their hands. Thank goodness the ASA weren't too chicken to put the brakes on this ridiculous protest. Let us see TV in peace, I say! ....

Now in a society where everyone seem to have an opinion about everything and axes to grind, who is to be blamed?

Kentucky chicken any way has many fans and an equally admirable number of enemies...it is accused of everything which can be termed "evil"... see a sample here which may or maynot be true but the hate clubs PETA being one among them seems to beleive it to the core...added to it is the fact that every year and very moment controversy (not necessarily related to advertising) rules in KFC.....

In 2004 the animal welfare group Peta released a secretly taped video showing workers stomping on, kicking and throwing live chickens,ripping birds' beaks off, spray painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting tobacco into their mouths and eyes, tying their legs together for 'laughs' and such games in a shocking expose which made KFC run for an explanation...

In 2005 KFC stopped selling New Orleans chicken wings and chicken hamburgers in all its more than 1,000 outlets across China since it was identified that KFC was using a Sudan 1, a red dye used to colour oils, banned from food in many countries because of fears it can cause cancer. KFC in a pressrelease said they are "Deeply sorry"........ again the same year The ASA upheld five complaints that the KFC chicken fillet was larger in a TV commercial than in real-life. ASA found the advertised bun was thicker than those it bought in a London outlet and that there was "more filling and the lettuce was a different type"........

KFC is just a symptom....I dont want to take sides as it does not make any difference but when a new year starts,will the Marketer and the Agency sit together and study,before all the tall claims are made...?

People are no longer the same....it is all said before....they think differently but yes they think and definitely a poor image will be like a blood stain..to remove it you may have to burn the whole cloth.....