KFC Germany apologizes for Kristallnacht promotion

We have a new contender for "worst ad blunder in November", it's KFC promoting cheesy chicken to commemorate Kristallnacht.

 KFC Germany sent an app alert on Wednesday: "It's memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!"

the unfortunate alert

As everyone knows, the Kristallnacht attacks in 1938 left 90 people dead, and Jewish-owned businesses and places of worship were destroyed. It's regarded as the beginning of the Holocaust.

 

An hour after this push notification, KFC Germany sent another one that read: "We are very sorry, we will check our internal processes immediately so that this does not happen again. Please excuse this error." 

 

In a statement sent to Newsweek, KFC blamed the error on a bot. 

 "An automated push notification was accidentally issued to KFC app users in Germany that contained an obviously unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message and for this we sincerely apologize."

"We use a semi-automated content creation process linked to calendars that include national observances. In this instance, our internal review process was not properly followed, resulting in a non-approved notification being shared. We have suspended app communications while we examine our current process to ensure such an issue does not occur again. We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all."

Bot-babysitters can breathe easy, you jobs are not going away anytime soon.

 

 

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