Video summary

What Was KFC Really Telling Us With This Commercial

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News and Commentary

Overview

The video argues that several brands have leaned on extremely dark, religious/occult, or “demonic” imagery in commercials. Rather than persuading viewers, the ads may be more unsettling than effective—often triggering outrage, confusion, or disbelief.

KFC: “cult,” gravy “baptism,” and “white meat” implications

  • In March 2025, KFC released a commercial that allegedly resulted in 1,000+ complaints for being disturbing and religiously insensitive.
  • Key imagery in the ad:
    • A man in a forest is seized by a cult.
    • He is submerged in a “lake of gravy.”
    • He re-emerges as fried chicken.
    • A woman waves chicken as if about to eat it.

The narrator claims viewers had limited “reasonable” ways to interpret the sequence, pointing to:

  • Cult kidnapping / random victim framing
  • A baptism-like beat (submersion and “rebirth”)
  • An implied “other white meat” concept inferred from the transformation premise

The video says KFC reportedly “doubled down,” refusing to pull the ad and arguing people were overreacting. The narrator, however, doubts the commercial is helpful for selling chicken—claiming it doesn’t create a desire to eat.

Broader trend: luxury/dating/food ads with devil or secret-society themes

The video claims “dark commercials” have become more common and profiles several examples:

Mercedes-Benz (2013 Super Bowl)

  • An ad featuring Willem Dafoe as the devil offering a deal for a man’s soul in exchange for success and fame, paired with a Mercedes.
  • The narrator interprets it as implying a “dark bargain” may be necessary for celebrity status.
  • The commercial ultimately suggests the buyer can afford the car without selling their soul.
  • The video also notes the concept resembles an older Argentinian devil-and-soul commercial from the 1990s—suggesting Mercedes (or its agency) drew from the same premise.

Match.com (2020: “A Match Made in Hell”)

  • A devil receives a dating match notification and ends up in a relationship with someone named “2020.”
  • The ad mixes comedic but disturbing underworld romance imagery, including a toilet-paper-stealing scene tied to jokes about “2020.”
  • The narrator frames it as questionable because it connects a real-world “2020” crisis context with literal devil imagery.

Taco Bell (2017: secret society initiation)

  • People scan a dollar bill to enter a secret club with cloaked/masked figures and symbolic visuals.
  • The narrator argues it resembles conspiracy-theory style initiation rituals and notes it’s unclear how the concept sells tacos.
  • A highlighted line (“these layers only cost a dollar… reserved for a secret society…”) is presented as the pitch—treating the dollar deal as access to a hidden group.

Liquid Death: occult branding and escalating “witch/demon” themes

The video portrays Liquid Death as the darkest offender, describing an arc of increasingly extreme commercials:

  • 2019 “Mystic Dylan” curse ad: A witch doctor casts a spell over inventory, joking that drinking the water turns consumers into “magnets for demons,” while “curse reversal spells” are sold online.

  • Follow-up demon trapping: Demons/spirits are pulled from the underworld and fused into limited edition cans—portrayed as the witch “casting spells on every can.”

  • Steve-O voodoo doll: A witch doctor makes voodoo dolls using Steve-O’s hair, claiming buyers can enact “nasty or nice” effects on him.

  • Tony Hawk blood/paint collaboration: Tony Hawk’s blood is drawn so it can be mixed into skateboard paint, tied to skate-park and anti-plastic messaging. The narrator focuses on the shock factor: “my soul is owned / using real blood.”

  • Demon punishing someone in the underworld: Framed as part of the same occult/metal-branded style. The narrator argues it doesn’t help sell water—only repels customers (claiming they’d never buy because of it).

Conclusion: dark imagery as marketing—effective or just provocative?

  • The narrator repeatedly questions why companies choose this branding: whether it truly works or is merely an attempt to push boundaries.
  • Liquid Death is singled out as especially aggressive in “how far they can push it.”
  • The narrator teases that other brands (e.g., Arby’s, Kayak) also use dark imagery, but suggests those are covered only in a potential “part two.”
  • The video ends by comparing these commercials to an Apple ad the narrator previously covered—suggesting Apple also contains an ambiguous or revealing implication viewers should watch about separately.

Presenters / contributors

  • Narrator / channel host (unnamed)
  • Willem Dafoe (appears in the Mercedes ad; mentioned as a contributor to the ad, not the video)
  • Ryan Reynolds’ agency (credited as producing the Match.com commercial; not individually named in the subtitles)
  • Mystic Dylan (witch doctor character in Liquid Death ads)
  • Steve-O (appears in Liquid Death voodoo doll promotion)
  • Tony Hawk (appears in the Liquid Death skateboard blood/paint collaboration)

Original video