Fast food giant KFC has pulled an Australian television advertisement after it was branded racist in the United States.

The ad depicts a white Australian cricket fan subduing boisterous black West Indian fans by sharing his fried chicken.

"Need a tip when you're stuck in an awkward situation?" the Australian asks. "Too easy," he adds after the West Indian supporters surrounding him give up their celebrating to eat his KFC.

The spot, which foreshadows a much-anticipated clash between the two fiercely competitive cricketing nations, ran for three weeks without raising a ripple of complaint in Australia.

But when the ad spread via the Internet to the United States, some complained it played on a derogatory stereotype of black Americans. Minstrel shows, which portrayed demeaning caricatures of blacks in the 19th and early 20th century, often showed them eating fried chicken.

There is no such association in Australia. The controversy over the ad puzzled many Australians. On Friday, the Australian newspaper The Age posted a survey online asking if the ad was racist. Of the more than 6,600 votes, 86% selected "no."

KFC joins the ranks of marketers who didn't think their local ads would go viral and be considered offensive somewhere, usually the U.S.

You can watch the commercial here... more about this news is here

Source: AdAge and MarketingMag.ca