Tegel’s ‘No chicken way’ ad too violent, but cleared of racism
Tegel's 'No chicken way' ad was just a little too violent for Ad Standards
A slapstick advertisement depicting an Asian takeaway owner chasing and attacking a man for buying a supermarket-ready meal has been ruled too violent by Australia’s advertising watchdog, but was not found to contain racist stereotypes.
New Zealand-owned Tegel Take Outs has scaled back its 30-second ad after it showed a female takeaway owner going to extreme lengths to stop a man from eating the frozen meal, shouting, “No chicken way.”
In the original ad, the camera lingered on the potential weapons at the woman’s disposal, including a set of kitchen knives, before she ultimately chose a pan.
After complaints that the ad’s depiction of the woman considering a knife was “highly inappropriate” and, amid media coverage of a national knife crime wave, an Ad Standards panel found the advertisement had breached section 2.3 of the AANA Code for violence.
“The panel considered that, even if the intention was to portray a restaurant owner attacking a man for not eating at her restaurant, the level of violence was disproportionate to this motivation, and was not in keeping with societal expectations around violence and violent behaviour,” according to the ruling.
An edited version of the ad, without the final fight scene, remains live on Youtube, where it has amassed 1.8 million views.
However, the original version continues to be available on Tiktok and Instagram.
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According to the ruling, “Tegel recognises the importance of the Ad Standards and the AANA Code” and had confirmed that the ad had been modified “in line with the community panel’s decision.”
The panel also addressed — and dismissed — complaints that the ad was discriminatory in its depiction of Asian people.
In its response, the panel said it considered that “although she is seen as aggressive, nothing in the ad appears to ridicule her, portray her in a less favourable light, or incite any contempt or hatred towards her or anyone of Asian descent.”
Tegel told Ad Standards it had made a “deliberate decision to cast an Asian character as the Korean restaurant owner to emphasise the fact that these meals compete with authentic restaurant-quality Asian cuisine.”
The company also reiterated that the ad was not intended to mock a particular culture or accent, or to portray a stereotype unrelated to the product.
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