KFC in Germany is in full damage control after it tweeted out to customers “to treat yourself” to one its cheesy chickens while celebrating the anniversary of one of the Nazi’s most heinous anti-semitic war crimes.
Bizarrely, KFC app users in the country were sent a tweet that read: “It’s memorial day for Kristallnacht! Treat yourself with more tender cheese on your crispy chicken. Now at KFCheese!”
Kristallnacht – also known as Night Of The Broken Glass – occurred in November 1938 and saw Nazi party members attack Jewish-owned businesses and synagogues throughout Germany and Austria.
The violent attacks led to 90 deaths and many regard it as the beginning of the Holocaust that ultimately led to the deaths of six million European Jews.
Following the very unfortunate tweet, KFC sent out another message an hour later to apologise and blamed the original message on “a fault in our system”.
It added: “We are very sorry, we will check our internal processes immediately so that this doesn’t happen again. Please excuse the error.”
As you’d imagine, Germany’s war history and the Holocaust still remain very raw in the country some 80 years on.
KFC’s German marketing team blamed the highly insensitive tweet on a tech blunder that was “obviously unplanned, insensitive and unacceptable message”. It said its app included an “automated push notification” that was “linked to calendars that include national observances”.
It added: “We understand and respect the gravity and history of this day, and remain committed to equity, inclusion and belonging for all.”
Naturally, the whole unfortunate affair proved about as popular as you’d imagine and was fast called out on social media.
In a successful attempt to outdo Brewdog in the “Worst Marketing Blunder of the month” stakes, KFC Germany reportedly sent out a push notification offering customers special chicken deals for Kristallnacht, before sending out another message apologising. Absolutely hideous. pic.twitter.com/mRgvA0euEY
— Daniel Sugarman (@Daniel_Sugarman) November 9, 2022
Daniel Sugarman, director of public affairs at the Board of Deputies of British Jews called it the “worst marketing blunder” and “absolutely hideous”.
Dalia Grinfeld, the associate director of European affairs at the Jewish NGO Anti-Defamation League, tweeted: “How wrong can you get on Kristallnacht KFC Germany. Shame on you!”
Other social media users soon registered their disgust.
KFC in germany remembering the national socialist november pogroms against jews, the prelude to the shoah, with some tender cheese and crispy chicken pic.twitter.com/3VfdJnz2TQ
— Nicholas Potter (@n1ckism) November 9, 2022
“Wow. Some random idiot in the promotions department looks up ‘anniversaries next week’ on Google and doesn’t check what it’s the anniversary of?” tweeted one.
Another added: “Sufficiently grotesque to make me wonder if that was a deliberate act of provocation or sabotage on the part of someone. Just astonishingly dreadful.”
Another offered: “I can tell you that Germans are well aware of their hideous past, with it being thoroughly taught in their schooling system, unlike some other countries.”
