The recent KFC Macedonia incident is a stark warning to every brand racing to win the internet. In November, the fast-food chain posted a trending template using audio from influencer Jessie Yendle, not for her personality or humour, but for her stutter.

The clip went viral, gaining over 200,000 likes and millions of views, but for all the wrong reasons. In the pursuit of engagement, a person’s speech impediment became a punchline.

From the outside, the post looked like another attempt to ride a trending sound. But inside the industry, and especially at Wonderland, alarm bells were deafening. I was stunned by the lack of care and research by a team that saw a trend, paired it with a product and hit publish — without asking where it came from, who it might affect or whether it carried harm.

I reached out to Jessie directly. She had no idea the audio was being used this way which speaks volumes, and has since discussed the incident on ITV and the BBC, highlighting how many brands still understand so little about speech impediments and the stigma surrounding them. KFC apologised publicly and privately, but the damage is done, to the brand and to individuals who saw a disability turned into entertainment.

Need for speed

This misstep is symptomatic of an industry addicted to speed. Brands are competing not on creativity but on immediacy: Who can jump on a meme first? Who can match TikTok’s pace? Agility has replaced responsibility. Responsibility is, at its core is our ability to respond. Viewed through that lens, we must ask of every content decision: do we understand enough to respond? If not, we should involve those who do, or step away.

The pressure to be culturally relevant has begun to overshadow the need to be culturally aware. In the race to be first, approvals are streamlined and sense-checking becomes optional. Blind spots become inevitable, and they almost always impact the same groups, marginalised communities who already have to fight to be represented fairly.

Get curious

What’s missing in the fastest corners of marketing isn’t just stronger processes, it’s lived-experience and awareness in the room. Someone who recognises why a stutter isn’t a punchline. Someone who understands the cultural origins of a sound before repurposing it. Someone curious enough to ask, whether the trend should be used wont slow creativity down. They will protect it.

If you don’t have this experience — get curious about it and find people who do.

The most successful work today doesn’t chase trends; it contributes to them, it defines them. It doesn’t exploit communities; it collaborates with them and uplifts them.

The KFC Macedonia incident will appear in industry talks and pitch decks for months. But it shouldn’t just be a lesson in apology statements or PR fallout. It should mark a line in the sand. Because if our industry continues to prize speed over understanding, virality over empathy and impressions over impact, we’re doomed to fail.

Being first to a trend may win a day on social. Being thoughtful wins trust.

And trust remains the most valuable currency, long term, that any brand can own.