Oh dear.
Last year, 755 Britons complained about a rapping chicken, the star of a KFC advert.
The issue was that the chicken was headed to the slaughter house and the ad bummed out vegans, vegetarians and children alike.
However, seeing as there was no explicit reference to animal slaughter, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled it was unlikely that the ad would cause distress or serious or widespread offence, reports The Telegraph.
Let’s see what the cluck is up:
Jeepers, it’s not that bad.
That was the UK’s most complained about advert of 2017, so let’s take a quick look at a few others worthy of a mention:
RB UK Commercial (V.I.Poo). 207 complaints. Not upheld.
A fictional Hollywood starlet shares her secret on how to maintain good toilet etiquette, by using the V.I.Poo air freshener.
Many people found the ad unsavoury. The ASA ruled that the campaign was a light-hearted way of introducing the product and did not consider its reference to the “devil’s dumplings” likely to break rules on offence.
Match.com. 293 complaints. Not upheld.
The ad featuring a lesbian couple kissing passionately also appeared at number three on 2016’s list, and had attracted almost 1,200 complaints over the two years.
The ASA ruled that it was not too sexually explicit for children to see.
Mars Chocolate UK (Maltesers). 92 complaints. Not upheld.
This ad appeared in the top 10 for the second year, with complainants believing the woman’s description of having a spasm during a romantic encounter with her boyfriend to be offensive and overly sexual. Some also felt it was offensive to portray the woman, who was in a wheelchair, in this manner.
The ASA found the woman’s conversation to be light-hearted and did not believe it would cause serious or widespread offence.
MoneySuperMarket.com. 455 complaints. Not upheld.
This MoneySuperMarket.com campaign also appeared in the ASA’s top 10 list for 2015 and 2016, and once again featured the two #epicsquads – the strutters and the builders.
Many complainants found the ad to be offensive on the grounds that it was overtly sexual and possibly homophobic.
The ASA ruled it was unlikely to condone or encourage harmful discriminatory behaviour.
Oh, but there’s more:
Good times.
Get ready for the deluge of Super Bowl adverts on Monday, although the Brits won’t be moaning about those.
[source: thetelegraph]