KFC slips ads into Spotify Premium through artist profiles

You might not avoid ads in Spotify just because you pay for a Premium account. KFC Middle East and the ad agency Memac Ogilvy recently ran a promo campaign for the Kentucky Burger by taking over the profiles of artists Flipperachi, Moh Flow and Shébani. Their photos, bios, event calendars and even their playlists all pitched the chicken burger whether you cared for it or not.

Memac Ogilvy characterized this as a "new path to creativity" and bragged that there was "nothing stopping " KFC from bringing chicken to its customers. However, we suspect many subscribers didn't take it the same way. After all, you pay that Premium fee in part to avoid ads -- while these approaches didn't interrupt your listening, they effectively dodged Spotify's usual approach to ads.

We've asked Spotify for comment. The ads aren't present now, but it's not clear if Spotify was fine with them in the first place. If it was, it could set a precedent for other advertisers determined to market to Spotify Premium customers -- much to the chagrin of fans who just want to browse music without seeing any sales pitches.