KFC Gets Pink Washed For Breast Cancer, Manly For Meat
LatestKFC launched their new pink bucket campaign yesterday, which they hope will result in the largest ever donation to breast cancer research. Monday also saw the debut of the “Double Down.” How are these things related? Marketing.
First, let me get this out of the way and state the obvious: donating money to breast cancer research is a good thing. However, breast cancer awareness tends to rub me the wrong way. All the pink feels infantalizing, and all the gratuitous shots of breasts makes us worry that breast cancer is being cast as the “sexy” cancer, one that men need to worry about because it involves boobs, not women. Fortunately, KFC’s Buckets for the Cure ads don’t fall into either trap. They begin by showing several actors holding buckets of chicken saying “for Carol,” “for my wife,” and “for my mom.” After this touching moment, a soothing female voice adds:
For every pink bucket of Grilled or Original Recipe, KFC makes a 50 cent contribution to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Together we can make the largest donation in Komen history to help end breast cancer forever.
The videos are available online. KFC has also produced a Hispanic version, which follows the same basic formula with different actors. The ads aren’t bad, and they are raising money for a good cause – so what’s the problem?