Way to die young #1: Eat at KFC
Is it April fools month at KFC? This is the only plausible explanation I can conjure. First the double down sandwich. Have you ever seen the machine that jump starts someones heart when it has stopped beating? Well, this is the opposite of that device. If there was such a condition where you were “too healthy” your doctor would prescribe you a KFC Double Down. Sure, KFC is a fried chicken establishment but wouldn't it be better to market a new menu item that caters to people who choose a healthier life style. That is the wave of the future if we want to save our nations livelihood.
A few days later I saw another brilliant KFC ad. Buckets for Change. Was this a program to allow homeless people to use their discarded buckets to collect spare change? No, for every bucket of deep fried chicken they sell, a small portion is donated to find the cure for breast cancer. Their goal is to sell 34,000,000,000 calories worth of fried chicken. Yes, billion. This is like Marlboro advertising “Cigarettes for Change”. For every pack of cigarettes they sell they will donate a nickel to find the cure for lung cancer. They are making a dent in one problem while making an even bigger problem worse. The number one killer in our country is obesity related illness. This comes from our countries unrelenting appetites for killer food.
So, who is to blame?
KFC: They want good PR especially after the backlash of the Double Down and cruelty against animals. They want more positive salient brand affiliations. They use warm fuzzy feelings to sell chicken.
Susan G. Komen: They want $8.5 million dollars. Where do they draw the line? Sure KFC isn't an illegal activity but it is a contributor to the overwhelming obesity epidemic. An epidemic that is growing exponentially in the youth population. They even state the effects of weight gain on breast cancer on their very own Web site http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/HealthyWeightampDiet.html .
Consumers: They want greasy delicious deep fried chicken. They are the ones buying the chicken. Yes, marketing is very influential especially on younger populations, but consumers and their parents make purchasing decisions. If people didn't buy KFC they would fail as a business or be forced to adopt a healthier menu.
So the solution lies in your power as a consumer. You aren't making business decisions at KFC or Susan G. Komen so you can only act within your own power. Don't eat at KFC. Contact KFC and Susan G. Komen and let them know how you feel. These are simple actions for a big problem.
FUN FACTS UPDATE: SENDING YOUR MONEY TO SUSAN G KOMEN INSTEAD OF BUYING CHICKEN WOULD RAISE OVER $118 MILLION, THEY ARE SELLING 3.4 MILLIONS LBS OF FAT.
