Tuesday, May 9, 2017

KFC reminds moms that it's their job to cook. On #MothersDay


The idea is pretty cute: Kentucky Fried Chicken publishes a romance novella starring Colonel Sanders as a mysterious Victorian sailor.




It's funny stuff by Wieden + Kennedy. But there's a problem here, and it has to do with what "moms" are expected to do when it's not Mother's Day.

Let's hear it directly from the mouth of George Felix, director of advertising for KFC U.S.:

"...this Mother's Day, the bucket of chicken I get for my wife will come with a side of steamy romance novella. Dinner is taken care of and she'll have the time to escape her busy schedule."

Dinner's taken care of? That's great! Mom gets the night off from cooking for her family. Because that's what moms are expected to do, right?

I get that advertising isn't supposed to push social progress, but rather sell stuff. And KFC has been selling fried chicken as a "break for mom" since the beginning.



You get the idea.

Nonetheless, the dusty old ideas about family division of labour seem to work for the KFC brand, who claim a 40% jump in sales on Mother's Day.

Moral of the story? More men and children need to learn how to cook.

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