Update: Another post to Reddit this afternoon, confirms that the advertising has been removed.
Reddit has exploded overnight owning to a quite remarkable story. Redditor RealladMalaga posted about their apartment now being the home of a massive KFC advertisement. On the surface, it just looks like another ad on a busy street, but the impact on this renter is massive. In the video they’ve posted on Reddit, it appears that someone is struggling to open an apartment window behind the banner.
In the post, RealladMalaga says “It’s pitch black inside because the only windows are on that side” and that they “can’t even open the window anymore”. The Redditor also says that there was no prior contact with the landlord and that the landlord has yet to respond to their query. It’s quite like the landlord doesn’t know the furore growing online either.
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT – Landlord (?) covers our apartment in advertisement.
byu/RealladMalaga inireland
The apartment in question isn’t hard to find either. It’s located on O’Connell Street above Thomas Clarke’s pub.
Responses in the comments have called for action from a wide variety of bodies, including KFC themselves. However, it is likely KFC just booked the space without knowing how it would be implemented.
One Redditor highlights Dublin City Council’s minimum standards which are being impeded by this advertising. The stand-out areas of these standards being impacted are “that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting.” Others have called for Dublin Fire Brigade to respond given the banner may be made from a flammable material.
Dublin City Councillor Michael Pidgeon has responded to the thread stating “this display does not have planning permission”, before asking the poster to get in touch with him to get it resolved.
This is the second time KFC has been in the news recently, after the ASAI called them out for having too much chicken in an ad. While this could be one of those “there’s no such thing as bad press moments” for KFC, but this does feel like it crosses a line, even for a slightly edgy brand. With the state of living in Ireland being pretty grim at times, this seems a step to far. But of course, some people have responded with glee, saying “omg the tower burger is back?”.
Images in this article are courtesy of Reddit, RealladMalaga and Google Maps.
