ASA Adjudication on Yum! Restaurants (UK) Ltd

Ad

A TV ad, for the KFC Deluxe Boneless Box meal, showed a young girl passing her unwanted bread to her soft toy, saying that he loved crusts. The next scene showed the girl passing the white of a fried egg, having eaten the yolk, to the same toy again saying that he liked “the white bit”. At dinner with her family, the girl announced that her toy didn’t like boneless chicken and then ate the KFC chicken herself. A voiceover said “kids won’t leave a thing”.

Issue

The viewers complained that the ad encouraged children to reject healthy food in favour of unhealthy fast food, and suggested to parents that children who were fussy eaters should be given KFC because they would eat it all.

BCAP TV Code

Response

Kentucky Fried Chicken (Great Britain) Ltd (KFC) said consumer research had shown that some children enjoyed the taste of KFC but were put off by the bones.  They said the main point of the ad was that boneless chicken would appeal to those children and to promote the Deluxe Boneless Box as a meal that the whole family could therefore enjoy together. They said the ad implied that children would enjoy the wide selection of food in the Boneless Box, particularly the boneless chicken, and that between them, the family would eat it all.

KFC believed the ad did not disparage good dietary practice or discourage the selection of healthy options. They explained that the foods the girl rejected were chosen because they would resonate with viewers as being foods that fussy children would dislike.  They argued that many children did not like the texture of fried egg white, and that childrens dislike of bread crusts was well known, to the extent that at least two bread manufacturers had produced crustless loaves.  KFC also argued that, rather than showing the girl rejecting vegetables or other healthy foods, they purposely chose fried egg white and bread crusts because they were not foods which accepted dietary opinion recommended should form a greater part of the average diet.  They claimed that the KFC Mini Fillet that the girl ate had a nutritional value no lower than that of the fried egg white and the white bread crusts she rejected.

KFC produced a media schedule that showed when the ad was broadcast and pointed out that because it was aimed at mothers, not children, they targeted a "Housewives with kids" audience, rather than childrens TV programming.  They argued that the ad was aired at a variety of times and was designed to appeal to families rather than exclusively to children. They maintained that KFC could be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet and that the ad encouraged good dietary practice by showing a family enjoying a meal together which, many experts believed, helped children develop good eating habits.

The BACC said they were careful when they approved the script to consider the issue of rejection of other food by the girl in favour of KFC, and thought it important that she was not seen to reject food such as fresh fruit and vegetables.  They endorsed KFCs argument that the rejection of crusts, rather than all the bread, and fried egg white, rather than egg yolk or whole unfried egg, did not disparage good dietary practice.  

Assessment

Not upheld

The ASA noted the girls rejection of part of her home-prepared food and that the voiceover stated "kids wont leave a thing", which was a reference to the KFC meal.  We acknowledged that viewers were concerned that children might be encouraged to reject healthy food in favour of fast food and that parents might be encouraged to give KFC to fussy eaters.  We acknowledged that KFC and the BACC had tried to ensure that the ad was not seen to encourage the selection of KFC over healthy options and noted the girl was not shown discarding fruit, vegetables or other foods recommended to form the greater part of a balanced diet.  We noted bread crusts and fried egg white were chosen because they would be recognised by parents as foods commonly rejected by fussy eaters.  We also noted the ad was targeted at parents rather than children.  We considered that bread crusts, in particular, were often disliked by children and that most parents were likely to consider the scenario as a light-hearted reference to that cliché .  We noted the ad showed the girl rejecting snacks eaten alone rather than main meals at the dinner table and that the snacks were partially eaten.  We considered that lessened the impact of her discarding the food.  We considered the depiction of the family enjoying a KFC meal at the table showed the consumption of a fast food meal in a responsible environment.  We considered that the ad did not imply that a KFC was a healthy meal, merely that it was a meal that might be enjoyed by children.  We concluded that the ad did not discourage the selection of healthy foods or disparage good dietary practice.

We investigated the ad under CAP (Broadcast) TV Advertising Standards Code rule 8.3.3 (Comparisons and good dietary practice) but did not find it in breach.

Action

No further action required.

Adjudication of the ASA Council (Broadcast)