El Pollo Loco has a beef with KFC's chicken

The Los Angeles Times has the scoop on KFC's next potential PR fiasco. It turns out the marinade for KFC's new grilled chicken contains beef. So, not only isn't it grilled (it's cooked in an oven), it's not even completely chicken. PR reps for KFC claim the marinade, which contains beef powder and beef fat, is only 0.2% beef, but that doesn't help anyone who keeps beef out of their diet for either religious or ethical concerns. The chain's competitor, El Pollo Loco, has decided to play up that fact in its next ad campaign, after learning about it (get this) through a customer's Tweet. Check out their surprisingly boring opening spot, where EPL's president stands in a cow pasture, and the BeefyChicken.com site. Last month, EPL accused KFC of prank calling them, and KFC had to apologize for its Oprah distribution boo-boo. What's up with KFC? Is it just a cry for help or a legitimate attempt at brand suicide?

—Posted by Rebecca Cullers

Published on June 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Cullers, El Pollo Loco, Food and drink, KFC, Restaurants

New KFC ads give us a lot to unthink about

KFC wants its customers to be stoopid. Thick as bricks. The dimmer the better. Of course, that's not really the message of Draftfcb's "Unthink" campaign for the fast feeder, but it might as well be. The real message is that it's time to unthink preconceptions about KFC by using a word that isn't actually part of the English language. Isn't KFC always clashing with PETA over hen torture or something? Unthink about that for a while. Errol Morris apparently directed the TV spots. The guy won an Oscar a few years back. He was last spotted lensing ads for Depends. And now KFC. Errol might want to unthink his career trajectory. The worst element of all is the goofy dancing chick wielding drumsticks in both hands on the unthinkfc.com site. So awful, it's unthinkable!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on April 22, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Draftfcb, Food and drink, Gianatasio, KFC, Restaurants

KFC finds random side job: fixing potholes

Cities and states are running out of money. So, don't expect quick action on that pothole. Thankfully, KFC is stepping in to help. The fast-food giant is filling in potholes in five cities. What's more, Col. Sanders himself (well, an underemployed actor playing Col. Sanders) is doing the honors, along with a more professional crew. The idea is that KFC has been clogging arteries, I mean filling stomachs, for 50 years. Of course, the filled potholes come with a price: a big "Re-Freshed by KFC" message on the street. This is just what we need to fix our infrastructure: ad-supported repairs. Some more suggestions: street lamps that beam a sponsors' message on the ground; new bridges that require drivers to watch a two-minute pre-roll ad instead of a toll; and new schools that are roadblocked for a single advertiser, with 100 percent share of voice.

—Posted by Brian Morrissey

Published on March 25, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (10)
Filed under KFC, Morrissey, Restaurants

The near-perfect world of old fast-food ads

Given the recent surges in obesity, ads like this KFC classic from 1980 are strangely quaint. Which makes sense, as those were more innocent times. Pac-Man and CNN were new, I hadn't been born yet, and Richard Pryor was still alive and extending his act another few years by setting himself on fire during an attempt to freebase cocaine. How were we to know that years of eating what may or may not have been chicken fried in lakes of grease would turn those apple-cheeked kids into guys like this 28 years down the line?

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on September 12, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under KFC, Kiefaber, Vintage

KFC recipe moved to a new secure location

On Tuesday, reports the Associated Press, Col. Sanders' handwritten original KFC recipe was moved, under heavy security, from KFC's corporate offices "for the first time in decades." It "was placed in a lockbox that was handcuffed to security expert Bo Dietl, who climbed aboard an armored car that whisked away with an escort from off-duty police officers." There's more: "So important is the 68-year-old concoction that coats the chain's Original Recipe chicken that only two company executives at any time have access to it. KFC executives said they decided to upgrade security after retrieving the recipe for a new line of Original Recipe chicken strips." Three observations: 1) That armored car better not stop to let a bunch of chickens cross the road. It's a trick! Those hens are packing heat! 2) For a nonsensical PR stunt, this is way more compelling than most current media news, notably the story that Esquire's 75th anniversary issue will feature an "electronic paper" cover. 3) If Esquire ever figures out how to polybag KFC drumsticks, it could revive print media and also provide the perfect tie-in for Capri Sun juice pouches and Wet Naps.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on September 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (4)
Filed under Gianatasio, KFC, PR stunts

This guilty plea is brought to you by KFC

"Defendant trades murder plea for KFC, pizza." That's the kind of free publicity that KFC probably doesn't want or need. But actually, Tremane Durham’s agreement to plead guilty to murder in Oregon so long as he gets to enjoy buckets of the Colonel’s finest in prison (along with apparently unbranded pizza, calzones and ice cream) could be a big plus for KFC, positioning the chain as a vital link (such wordplay!) in the criminal justice system. Super Chicken achieved that status about 40 years ago, but his crime-fighting exploits were cut short by a deep-fryer and a coating of extra-crispy bread crumbs. Point to ponder: Just how bad is prison food if KFC is considered an improvement?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on August 7, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under KFC

PETA brings its KFC horror show to Boston

KFC's really been getting battered lately. First, Moby's pimp-chicken attacked. Then Troma produced Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead. Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has hit the airwaves with what the Boston Herald calls “disturbing new ads depicting the bespectacled Colonel Sanders as a sadistic torture monger.” You might remember this as the campaign that FOX refused to run during the Super Bowl. The Herald continues: “The ‘Kentucky Fried Cruelty’ ads ... show a man dressed like the grandfatherly Sanders watching approvingly as guards ruthlessly beat half-human, half-chicken creatures cooped up in a Guantanamo-like prison camp.” Guantanamo-like, eh? Why then, it’d be un-American not to eat at KFC!

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on May 13, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Gianatasio, KFC, PETA

KFC once again has something to hide

KFC has issued a challenge. Clearly, it's not chicken. (Sorry.) From the release: "After pioneering the first-ever documented hidden message in a national TV ad in 2006, KFC has pushed the marketing envelope even further by hiding something special in the latest Snacker advertising, both in-store POP and again in broadcast television commercials, giving thousands of Americans a chance to win.” I dunno if I like my fast food coming with hidden “specials,” quite frankly. I flash on a finger, like the one found in French fries in The Hitcher. And KFC’s prize—the “chance to win a free Snacker sandwich”—doesn’t sound so great either. I don’t even want to try to find the hidden message. Is it “Paul is dead?” Actually, he’s at Starbucks. Same thing, basically. Here’s Moby’s latest video, which has a message KFC might find insightful.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on April 24, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)
Filed under Gianatasio, KFC

Moby wings it with pro-chicken music video

Col. Harlan Sanders of KFC fame may have been a genius at marketing fried chicken. But in our meat-is-murder, health-obsessed world, his legacy hasn’t aged well. Oddly, the same can be said of Moby, whose new music video stars an overgrown pimp-chicken who takes violent, blaxploitation-style revenge on a Col. Sanders lookalike. Blood flows. Eyeballs pop. Human limbs are devoured. The song, “Disco Lies,” still sucks, though. I know this because I like it, and my taste in music is terrible. Styx forever! As weird as this video is, some of these old KFC spots (here and here) are actually more disturbing. Look at this one, with those people parading around a big bucket. Man, they love that chicken. They look like robots. “Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!” Sigh. Why do my co-workers shun me?

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on April 10, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)
Filed under Gianatasio, KFC

How can you fail with an annoying whine?

So, KFC is introducing a new Boneless Variety Bucket, and they want to score points with the young people. Do they put a toy or CD in the bucket, like normal people? Of course not. Instead, in a new ad, they include an extremely high-frequency whiny, buzzing sound that apparently only younger people (and their dogs, I imagine) can hear. See the ad here. Those who identify the source of what’s being called the Mosquito Ringtone get a chance to try the Boneless Variety Bucket before everyone else. Doesn’t seem like much of a prize. All the same, people are excited. Simon Morris of Compound Security Systems is “thrilled that KFC is spicing up their ads with the Mosquito Ringtone. ... It shows how clever and irreverent advertising can resonate in unexpected ways with their customers.“ Actually, he owns the company that invented the Mosquito Ringtone, so chalk that up to KFC’s check clearing. Whether or not you can hear it, if you go home and find an empty KFC bucket in the backyard, you’ll know what the dog’s been watching.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on April 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (12) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC, Kiefaber

Another reason not to eat mounds of KFC

We’d heard about this ad but hadn’t seen it until now. It’s the 2005 Bartle Bogle Hegarty spot for KFC in the U.K., in which the workers at a call center sing with their mouths full of chicken. Needless to say, this was not seen as proper behavior among the British, who registered a record number of complaints. Thanks to Ana at Spare Room for the link.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on March 26, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (9) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC

More hip fast-food advertising from Asia

What is it with the hip-hop poses in Asian fast-food ads? First we had Ronald McDonald doing it, now this collection of hip and happy KFC workers. I didn’t even know they had KFC in China. I figured they had McDonald’s (it’s only a matter of time before they open one on the moon), but I hadn’t expected them to embrace KFC for some reason. The ad kinda makes me wonder what they sell there. Maybe they have a twelfth herb and/or spice. Photo by borna.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on March 12, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC, Kiefaber

Who moved my cheese and bean burrito?

“City gave pass to rathole KFC.” That’s a rough headline for any brand to endure, particularly KFC/Taco Bell. If the rats were introduced as a high-risk, high-reward PR strategy designed to make people forget about Taco Bell’s E. coli scare, well—mission accomplished. But really, there’s no messaging spin that could fix the problem. The video of the House of Rats on Sixth Avenue in Manhattan will live forever. (Some accounts say there were 50 rats. 5-0!) Yum! Brands need not bother reopening the restaurant—who’ll eat there? The company might, however, want to remove that sign proclaiming “We deliver.” And drop off a few dozen cats.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on February 27, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC, Taco Bell

Moon awaits its own Colonel Sanders ad

What’s the use of having a giant ad on the surface of the Earth that’s visible from space? There’s barely anyone up in space to see it. If you’re going to create a gigantic Colonel Sanders, for example, wouldn’t it be better to project him onto the surface of the moon, and thus direct his friendly, updated visage toward six billion hungry, fried-chicken-craving Earthlings? That’s what FranWorst envisions with this comical imaginary ad placement. Says the satirical press release: “KFC creates first advertisement in space; beams 60 million sq. foot contemporized Colonel Sanders logo onto moon’s Copernicus crater.” Click over to FranWorst to read more; it’s impressively detailed and pretty funny.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on November 21, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC

Col. Sanders makeovers that fell just short

Over at Where’s My Jetpack?, they believe KFC didn’t go far enough in giving Col. Sanders a new look: “We decided to ‘hip up’ the Colonel,” they write. “We went with emo glasses, some hair dye and trimmed up that goatee into a soul patch. Also, the chin needed some chiseling and the face certainly benefited from minor liposuction.” Compare this effort to the approved version here. Hard to say whether this is an improvement. On the one hand, he doesn’t look much like a colonel. On the other hand, they could use this to finally open that elusive Williamsburg franchise.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on November 17, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC

KFC goes with the new-look Col. Sanders

KFC is revamping its image. Sort of. The popular restaurant “unveiled a new brand logo Tuesday that includes bolder colors and a more well-defined visage of ... Colonel Harland Sanders, who will keep his classic black bow tie, glasses and goatee.” (Yes, this is the same logo that KFC was considering over the summer and that is now visible from space.) KFC’s Gregg Dedrick says the change “gives us a chance ... to make sure we stay relevant.” And as we all know, it’s important to keep one’s antebellum Southern gentleman hip with the times. He’d better have a backwards hat by 2010, or I take my business to Popeye’s. Along with the decades-overdue image shift, KFC is also bringing back the full “Kentucky Fried Chicken” name, perhaps conceding that Americans keep getting fatter no matter what cosmetic changes you make. Go ahead and call me underwhelmed by all the publicity. KFC really isn’t changing as much as backpedaling, and the money they’re wasting could be put to better use—namely, offering conclusive evidence that what they’re frying is actually chicken. And while we’re thinking of it, we’ll ask again: Just what are those 11 herbs and spices?

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on November 15, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (8) | TrackBack (1)
Filed under KFC, Kiefaber

This looked better on Eva Longoria

Last time we wrote about this kind of marketing stunt, it involved Maxim and Eva Longoria, but times being what they are, this time it features Col. Sanders. What we’re talking about here is a KFC logo sculpted into the sand of Rachel, Nev., that’s so huge it can be seen from space (or eventually on Google Earth). As you may recall, last year KFC garnered a lot of press for what was actually a really boring commercial that contained a secret code that you could read if you slowed it down. Turns out the massive Col. Sanders logo also contains a secret message that, just like last year, entitles the decoder to a stunning $1 value, a KFC Snacker sandwich. Unlike last year, in which we decoded the message for you, this time you’ll have to figure it out yourself. We’re too damn busy.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on November 14, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC

Different day, more-or-less-the-same Colonel Sanders

I don't know if the folks at Gawker spend their off-hours at their local KFC, but it was kind of surprising to see they spent precious time in between Lindsay Lohan sightings yesterday to post something about the proposed celebrity makeover of Colonel Sanders. The Louisville Courier-Journal, which I assume should know about such things, says that the Yum Brands chain (sorry, on principle I refuse to add exclamation points into corporate names) has filed a trademark application for a new-look Sanders, though a spokesperson says it hasn’t committed to the makeover. Anyway, take a good look at it, and tell us, does this Col. Sanders (at left), really differ enough from the old one (at right) in any significant way? The motive, supposedly, is to make him look younger, but what I see here is an advertising icon re-created by committee—and the faction that was uncomfortable with change won. Why this would sell more chicken is puzzling.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on July 7, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (13) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under KFC

Did the KFC secret code spot connect?

Under the weak headline "KFC Seems to Win Game of Chicken," The Wall Street Journal has published a story about the results of that KFC ad (it's free content) that contained the secret code so crazily subliminal that ABC dare not run it. (Unless you hang out with the Slowskys, you probably know of what we speak; those with the temerity to pause their TiVos, or read AdFreak to reveal the secret code, could then email KFC to get a coupon redeemable for an entire free sandwich.) According to KFC, about 103,000 people redeemed a coupon, and traffic to KFC.com increased by 40 percent over the site’s normal traffic, to 2.75 million page views. Naturally, KFC has positioned this as a success, and we’re not saying—necessarily—that it wasn’t. However, consider that the spot ran during primetime programming, garnered approximately 250 mentions in the media and that the code itself was widely publicized—you might see why we're being a bit skeptical about the effort's success. Anyone else care to weigh in on this important matter of our time?

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on March 20, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (7)
Filed under KFC

AdFreak cracks KFC's secret code

It looks like KFC is getting some buzz out of a commercial it's breaking tonight that encourages viewers to play the ad again in slo-mo to find a secret code that will allow them to—wow!—get a $1 coupon on a new sandwich. We're told that a story about the ad just appeared on CNBC, positioning it as a work-around aimed at getting DVR nation to pay some attention to an ad for once. (According to this story at Adweek.com, for some reason ABC is alone in not airing the spot with the stealth information included.) The commercial is also airing at the KFC site, so you could view it here, but it's really not much of a commercial. And besides, we figured it out already; the secret code is "Buffalo." If you want the coupon, go to the same link and type the word in. And don't forget to tell 'em AdFreak sent ya.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on February 23, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (12)
Filed under KFC

Just what are those 11 herbs and spices?

It was 65 years ago this month that Col. Harland Sanders blended the 11 herbs and spices for his KFC chicken. As usual, the company is using the occasion to play up the super extra double top secret nature of the recipe. Apparently, the handwritten recipe is locked away at KFC headquarters, and the few people who know it are sworn to secrecy. KFC president Gregg Dedrick even claims he doesn’t know it. (“Presidents come and go, but the secret recipe remains,” he says.) Companies like KFC clearly benefit from perpetuating this kind of mystique. However, this interesting article on the subject raises some doubts about KFC’s claims. According to the article, a writer named William Poundstone “claims to have obtained a sample of the coating from a KFC employee, and then ... had it analyzed by a laboratory. What he found was shocking—only four ingredients: salt, ground black pepper, flour and MSG.”

—Posted by Tim Nudd

Published on July 25, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (33)
Filed under KFC

Britons call KFC ad finger lickin' awful

The folks at Kentucky Fried Chicken thought the television ad was funny. After all, who wouldn’t laugh at people trying to sing with a mouthful of food? The Brits, that’s who. More than 1,600 of them have complained about the ad to the nation’s Advertising Standards Authority, which monitors the industry, setting a new record for complaints. Viewers said they feared the KFC ad would encourage bad manners among children and that it mocked people with speech impediments. The ASA disagreed and refused to order KFC to pull the ad for its Zinger Chicken Salad. But prudish viewers won’t have to see it again. KFC said the planned run for the ad, which was produced by Bartle Bogle Hegarty of London, is over and it won’t buy additional time. The brouhaha over the KFC ad also illuminated that the ASA keeps really good records on people whining about ads. The ad eclipsed the previous record for complaints, 1,187, filed against a 1995 print ad by the British Safety Council that depicted the Pope wearing a helmet in a campaign promoting safe sex. The previous record for complaints about a television ad was 860, filed against a Wrigley gum ad that showed a man regurgitating a dog.

—Posted by Jim Lovel

Published on June 2, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under KFC

KFC puts the fried back in "F"

It turns out that the ‘F’ in KFC is going to stand for fried again. Officials at the fast-food chain have come to this stunning conclusion as in their latest attempt to reconfigure the restaurant around contemporary tastes, whatever those are. KFC will “banner the name” Kentucky Fried Chicken, according to this story in USA Today, in the launch of new concept store today in Louisville, Kentucky that plays up the chain’s southern roots and is supposed to expand to 49 other domestic outlets in the next year. The rethinking also includes a new, updated logo of the Colonel, in which he dons an apron. (Although, in what may be a sign of continuing schizophrenia, there’s no mention we could find of the changes at the company Web site.) Whatever you think of KFC’s return to its roots, we think the timing couldn’t be better, since the big health news of the week is that carrying around a few extra pounds might not be so bad for you after all.

—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor

Published on April 21, 2005 | Permalink | Comments (2)
Filed under KFC