KFC and Mini-Cricket are not a good match

I’ve been watching a fair amount of the IPL (I still have my misgivings about its constant commercial steriodisation), and in between all the the DLF Maximums – puke – and cheerleaders – double puke – and commentators on Valium – triple puke – there have been a whole bunch of adverts featuring Proteas players and KFC Mini-Cricket.

KFC Mini-Cricket? Back in the day, when I was a wee child growing up in Johannesburg, it was Bakers Mini-Cricket that formed the centre of my cricketing universe. The primary school I attended had many children spread out over our two fields where multiple games were taking place. The best part about it was the red Slazenger ball a.k.a. the mighty Slaz ball that didn’t perforate the skin or bones of those participating.

What is this sacrilegious tomfoolery? I decided to log onto the KFC Mini-Cricket website. Once there, I see the smiling face of AB de Villiers beaming back at me. I click on the ‘Ambassador’ side bar and there is De Villers again, with the modest description below his face reading, “AB de Villiers is considered one of the best cricketers to grace a South African pitch.” Clearly some PR person got their fangs into that one.

Further exploration shows that the website is pretty useful, making it easy to get involved, describing what Mini-Cricket is all about (it’s easy: to get kiddies to play cricket) etc etc. So far so good.

However, I frown deeply (or sigh cynically) when I scroll to the bottom of the screen. There, for all to see, are three links to a) the KFC menu, b) a KFC store locator, and c) KFC customer care. I should’ve smelt the sour milk when I originally logged on, since Mini-Cricket merely forms a branch of KFC’s website. Silly me.

Did you know that KFC in Australia paid out $8-million (around R60-million) after a girl was left paralysed for the rest of her life? This was because the girl in question ate a Twister meal in 2005 that gave her salmonella poisoning and brain damage. KFC Australia maintain they use safe food practices, but can you really say so after a customer was left incapacitated by your food?

KFC is also a big cricket sponsor in Australia, for which Cricket Australia have been criticised. Obesity experts across the Indian Ocean have said it sends a bad message to cricket fans, young and old, considering Australia is dealing with a rising obesity problem. That is my primary concern since, let’s face the facts, KFC is bad for your health. I’m not a doctor, but it doesn’t take one to know that constantly eating the Colonel’s chicken isn’t the best way to go about keeping a manageable weight.

While South African cricket is attempting to clean up its image, with sponsors avoiding Cricket SA like the plague, it’s concerning that CSA have allowed one of their signature brands, especially for young cricketers, to be hijacked by corporate interest.

While CSA or KFC might say they are promoting the game of cricket and not themselves, constantly seeing KFC next to the CSA logo creates a Pavlovian response where your brain, when thinking about Mini-Cricket, will also think about KFC. The fast food company will claim they have nothing to do with the way parents act when they consider buying KFC for their kids, but to suggest they are entirely innocent is naive. Perhaps their motto is get them while they are young?

Look, there is a slight amount of hypocrisy here considering Castle Lager still sponsor the Proteas (and drinking is definitely bad for you). However, it’s not like children are being forced to down quarts of beer but, rather, associate themselves with a product which, if eaten too much, can cause health problems down the road. Adults are partly responsible for deciding what they do with themselves, but by targeting children, KFC are going for the most vulnerable bunch of the lot.

It seems slightly sinister.