Dr Mumbo

Even if you live in a flooded village in The Philippines – never fear, KFC still delivers

Like everyone else, Dr Mumbo has to endure the post-public holiday blues and back-to-work tedium of sifting through emails – of which most are immediately deleted.

However, this campaign entitled ‘KFC Amphibious Delivery’ caught the eye. As a fan of Top Gear’s legendary attempt at racing marine-enabled cars, Dr Mumbo was expecting some slapstick tomfoolery to brighten up a grim Tuesday morning.

He was, alas, disappointed. However, before you watch, let’s make this crystal clear. It is not at all cynical and in no way uses poverty and hardship to deliver a hackneyed message about KFC delivering. Just so you know.

In the campaign – made by Ogilvy Philippines –  we meet 69-year-old Nanay Cora, who lives in the flooded Filipino village of Artex Malabon. The video voiceover tells us that the town has been submerged in floodwater since the early 1990s.

Nanay can only stay at home because it is difficult and costly to leave the locality. As a result, the work claims, she has not celebrated her birthday in 60 years. Wasn’t 1990 just 27 years ago though? You do the math.

Dr Mumbo is prepared to let that discrepancy slide for now because the ad now cuts to the rescue mission:  

Here he comes:

Now it’s getting exciting:

And, hey presto, the happy ending:

Because nothing makes a birthday more bearable in a flooded village in The Philippines than a box of deep-fried chicken. Transport and healthcare be damned. Who needs them?

Of course the video continues its philanthropic journey then to bring KFC buckets to the rest of the village. Dr Mumbo wonders how long the deliveries continued after the camera stopped running though.

Dr Mumbo’s colleague has recently written about the emptiness of these brand do-gooder case study videos allegedly masked as campaigns but that’s just sour grapes, he feels.

Just because the deadline for Cannes Lions entries happened to be last week, there’s no reason to be so cynical. There’s no doubt that fried chicken makes the world a better place OK. Glad we got that clear.

 

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