031218 KFC Wins Fight Over “Chicken Licken” AdDecember 5, 2003The bitter advertising dispute between chicken fast food giants Chicken Licken and KFC has been settled with the former being severely reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Accusing Chicken Licken of "hit-and-run" advertising, the ASA ruled that Chicken Licken flight a summarised version of the ruling at the "same exposure levels - the same reach and average frequency levels, as the offending advertisement". The ruling includes an apology for contravening the ASA's code of conduct and could very well cost Chicken Licken in excess of R1-million. KFC had complained after Chicken Licken's ad agency, Network BBDO, used a Colonel Sanders look- alike in its ad. KFC complained to ASA that this was "disparaging to KFC, comparative and exploited the goodwill KFC had invested in the icon for the Colonel". In the ad, references were also made to the colonel's secret recipe and KFC's pay-off line "Finger Licken' Good". ASA's ruling stated that the crafting of the advertising was "deliberate". The ASA tribunal said both Chicken Licken and its advertising agency were "arrogant, dismissive and unrepentant". "Through the entire process... the respondent's representatives were both arrogant and dismissive," the ruling, posted on ASA's website, declared. "The tribunal does believe the respondents, and more particularly Network BBDO's attitude was dismissive and unrepentant."
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