KFC advertising

KFC has been an extensive advertiser since the establishment of the first franchise in 1952.

Founder Harland Sanders initially developed his "Colonel" persona as a low-cost marketing tool. The Colonel's image is still used extensively in the chain's advertising.

The chain is well known for the "finger lickin' good" slogan, which originated in 1956.

Colonel Sanders

[edit]

Colonel Sanders was a key component of KFC advertising until his death in 1980. He made several appearances in various B movies and television programs of the period, such as What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret.[1] Jack Massey described him as "the greatest PR man I have ever known".[2] KFC franchisee and Wendy's founder Dave Thomas credited Sanders' appeal to the fact that he "stood for values that people understood and liked".[3]

Since his death Sanders has remained a key symbol of the company; an "international symbol of hospitality".[4]

In 1994, KFC hired actor Henderson Forsythe to portray the Colonel in a television campaign entitled "The Colonel's Way".[5][6][7] The $18.4 million campaign from Young & Rubicam used black and white visuals.[8] The campaign was deemed unsuccessful and was ended.[6]

From May 1998, an animated version of the Colonel, "boisterously" voiced by Randy Quaid, was used for television advertisements.[9] KFC chief concept officer Jeff Moody said they "provide a fresh way to communicate our relevance for today's consumers".[7] The animated Colonel was dropped in 2001 in the US, and in 2002 in the UK.[10] In 2012, a UK advertisement entitled "4000 cooks" featured an actor made up to resemble Sanders.[11]

Beginning in May 2015, Darrell Hammond began playing a live-action Colonel Sanders in KFC commercials.[12][13] Three months later, KFC launched a new campaign with comedian Norm Macdonald portraying Sanders; the first ad of the campaign makes direct reference to the Hammond campaign, with a brief piece of footage of Hammond followed by Macdonald's Colonel declaring his predecessor an impostor.[14] Jim Gaffigan then began playing Sanders in February 2016, with his first ads stating that Macdonald's Colonel was another impostor.[15] George Hamilton began appearing as "The Extra Crispy Colonel" in July 2016, with no transition referencing Gaffigan's Colonel.[16] Later, in September 2016, Rob Riggle began appearing as a new Colonel Sanders, the coach of the fictitious "Kentucky Buckets" football team, again with no transition.[17]

In January 2017, Billy Zane began appearing as a Gold Colonel Sanders to promote a new Georgia Gold flavor chicken.[18] In April 2017, KFC released a campaign featuring Rob Lowe as astronaut Colonel Sanders giving a JFK speech spoof/homage about launching the Zinger chicken sandwich into space.[19] This commercial also featured Wink Martindale. Lowe released a statement saying that when he was a child, his grandfather took him to meet Harland Sanders.[20] In 2018, a "Value Colonel" was introduced, portrayed by Christopher Boyer, an intentionally obscure background character actor who was among those who auditioned for the part in 2015; Boyer's first commercial also featured a cameo from Wayne Knight as another celebrity Colonel.[21] In January 2018, country music singer Reba McEntire was selected to be KFC's first female Colonel Sanders.[22] In August 2018, former Seinfeld star Jason Alexander was named the new Colonel Sanders. Alexander had previously appeared in commercials for KFC in the early 2000s.[23] Actor Craig Fleming portrays the Colonel in the 2018 ad featuring Mrs. Butterworth.[24] In 2019, actor Peter Weller reprised his role of RoboCop in the guise of Colonel Sanders.[25]

KFC CMO Kevin Hochman told PRWeek, "The plan was always to rotate colonels. We always thought of it like James Bond. The actor that dons the white suit brings something of his own to the actual character."[26] Although the rotating "Real Colonel Sanders" campaigns have generated mixed reviews, analysts and company executives credit it with helping to boost sales.[27] In late 2017, KFC introduced the "Value Colonel" portrayed by a lesser-known actor, Christopher Boyer, to advertise value meals. Boyer's portrayal of the Colonel makes a point to note that because he is not famous, he can advertise cheaply, even telling a Colonel Sanders suited Wayne Knight in one commercial, "Ah, ah, ah, no celebrities!"

In 2019, a KFC themed dating sim featuring Colonel Sanders, titled I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator was released on September 24.[28] The game received a 50% on Metacritic, and Polygon writer Nicole Carpenter gave it a negative review, citing its short playtime compared to advertised length and seeming mockery of the dating sim genre.[29][30]

The ubiquity of Sanders has not prevented KFC from introducing a mascot aimed at children. "Chicky", a young animated chicken, was first introduced in Thailand in the 1990s, and has since been rolled out across a number of markets worldwide, mostly in Asia and South America.[31][32]

Slogans

[edit]

Early official slogans included "North America's Hospitality Dish" (1956–1966) and "We fix Sunday dinner seven nights a week" from 1957 until 1968.[33][34] The two slogans were phased out in order to concentrate on the "finger lickin' good" slogan.

The "finger lickin' good" slogan was trademarked in 1956.[35] After a local KFC television advertisement had featured Arizona franchisee Dave Harman licking his fingers in the background, a viewer phoned the station to complain.[35] The main actor in the advertisement, a KFC manager named Ken Harbough, upon hearing of this, responded: "Well, it's finger lickin' good."[35] The phrase was adopted nationally by the company by the 1960s, and went on to become one of the best-known slogans of the twentieth century.[35] The trademark expired in the US in 2006, and was replaced in that market with "Follow your taste" until 2010.[36] In 2011, the "finger lickin' good" slogan was dropped in favor of "So good", to be rolled out worldwide.[35] A Yum! executive said that the new slogan was more holistic, applying to staff and service, as well as food.[37] Other slogans included "It's America's Country-Good Meal" and "It's Nice to Feel So Good about a Meal" (late 1970s), "We Do Chicken Right" (1980s) and "Everybody needs a little KFC" (mid 1990s).[citation needed]

"Nobody does chicken like KFC" was first introduced by KFC Australia in 1998, and has continued to be used by the company in some markets.[38]

In 2015, along with a revamp of their U.S. advertising, KFC returned to using "Finger Lickin' Good".[12] As of April 2016, KFC began using the slogan "Colonel Quality, Guaranteed."[citation needed]

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, KFC suspended use of the slogan "It's Finger Lickin' Good" out of safety concerns.[39]

The secret recipe is regularly identified with the phrase "eleven herbs and spices," the amount and identification of which remain a trade secret.[citation needed]

Logos

[edit]
A typical KFC logo on a sign in front of a restaurant in Washington, D.C.

The first KFC logo was introduced in 1952 and featured a "Kentucky Fried Chicken" typeface and a logo of the Colonel.[40] It was designed by the Lippincott & Margulies corporate identity agency.[40] Lippincott & Margulies were hired to redesign it in 1978, and used a similar typeface and a slightly different Sanders logo.[40] The "KFC" acronym logo was designed by Schechter & Luth of New York and was introduced in 1991, and the Colonel's face logo was switched from brown to blue ink.[41]

Landor redesigned the logo in 1997, with a new image of the Colonel. The new Colonel image was more thinly lined, less cartoonish and a more realistic representation of Sanders. In 2007, the Colonel logo was updated by Tesser of San Francisco, replacing his white suit with an apron, bolder colors and a better defined visage.[42] According to Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC's US division, the change, "communicates to customers the realness of Colonel Sanders and the fact that he was a chef".[42]

Television

[edit]

United States

[edit]
KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky

KFC began to advertise nationwide from 1966, with a US television budget of US$4 million.[43] In order to fund nationwide advertising campaigns, the Kentucky Fried Chicken Advertising Co-op was established, giving franchisees 10 votes and the company three when deciding on budgets and campaigns. In 1968, the budget was increased to US$9 million (around US$60 million in 2013).[44]

In 1969, KFC hired its first national advertising agency, Leo Burnett.[45] John Hughes, later to become a filmmaker, worked as a copywriter on the account.[46] A notable Burnett campaign in 1972 was the "Get a bucket of chicken, have a barrel of fun" jingle, performed by Barry Manilow.[45]

By 1976 KFC was one of the largest advertisers in the US.[47] Young & Rubicam (Y&R) was KFC's agency of record in the US from 1976 until December 2000.[48] The tagline from 1976 to 1981 was: "It's nice to feel so good about a meal".[49] It was chosen because KFC had identified consumer guilt as its core marketing obstacle.[50] Meanwhile, KFC hired the Mingo-Jones agency to target African American audiences.[51] Mingo-Jones coined the "We do chicken right" slogan, which was later adopted across the whole chain from 1981 until 1991.[52] From 1991 to 1994, the television campaign focused on the fictional town of Lake Edna.[53] When he took over the CEO role at KFC, David C. Novak ended the campaign, which he derided as "hokey". The campaign was replaced by one with the tagline, "Everybody needs a little KFC", which Novak credited with helping to boost sales at the company.[54]

BBDO took over the KFC US account in December 2000. Its first campaign, featuring Jason Alexander (who would later play Colonel Sanders for KFC ads in 2018), debuted on television in July 2001. It ran until May 2003 with the tagline, "There's fast food. Then there's KFC."[55] In September 2003, BBDO was replaced by Foote, Cone & Belding.[56] Its first campaign aired in November, but was pulled after less than a month following complaints from the National Advertising Division and the Center for Science in the Public Interest that it advertised the health benefits of eating fried chicken.[57]

International

[edit]

In 1994, Ogilvy & Mather became KFC's international agency of record.[58] From 1997 to 1999, Ogilvy & Mather used celebrities such as Ivana Trump, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson and Ulrika Jonsson to endorse KFC products in television advertisements in the UK.[59] After this campaign, the agency simply adapted Y&R's American campaigns, such as the animated Colonel, for a British audience.[10] In late 2002, BBH was appointed KFC's UK agency. In 2003, the "Soul Food" campaign was launched, aiming to capture the young urban market with 1960s and 70s African-American music. By 2005, this was believed to have been a failure, and KFC UK's marketing director left the company amid speculation that the US head office was unhappy with the campaign.[60] In 2012, it was determined that a 2005 advert in the Soul Food campaign, featuring people talking and singing with their mouths full, had been the most complained-about advert in the fifty-year history of the Advertising Standards Authority. The complaints were not upheld at the time.[61] Marketing subsequently moved towards a more family-orientated line.[60]

In 2017, Mother London began producing ads for KFC UK. One campaign included a dancing chicken and rap music.[62]

Moksh Chopra, Director Marketing, KFC India announced[63] that theatre and film actor Denzil Smith would be the first Indian Colonel, kicking off different campaigns from KFC Land[64] to Zinger.[65]

2018 print ad

[edit]

During a February 2018 food shortage that caused some restaurants to close and others to have limited selection, Mother London was given the job of helping KFC with its public relations. A print ad rearranged the KFC letters to spell FCK; the ad won awards at Cannes and elsewhere.[62]

Promotional tie-ins and corporate sponsorships

[edit]

In 2013, WPP's BrandZ valued the brand at US$10 billion.[66]

Between November 1998 and January 2000, KFC US teamed with Nintendo, Game Freak and 4 Kids Entertainment in a Pokémon tie-in. Pokémon themed promotional days were held, Pokémon Beanie Babies were sold, and Pokémon toys were given away free with children's meals.[67] In 1999, PepsiCo signed a $2 billion agreement with Lucasfilm in order to market Star Wars themed meals in its KFC and Pizza Hut chains.[68]

Since 2010, KFC has sponsored the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. In Australia, KFC has sponsored the Big Bash League Twenty20 cricket tournament and Twenty20 international matches since 2003.[69]

In December 2018, KFC, in partnership with Enviro-Log, created a firelog that smells like fried chicken with KFC's 11 herbs and spices. The logs sold out online within hours of their debut.[70]

KFC teamed up with Crocs in 2020 to create "KFC Crocs," a collaborative line of shoes presented tongue-in-cheek as haute couture. The shoes made their debut at Christian Cowan's presentation in the 2020 New York Fashion Week, where they were modeled by South Korean artist MLMA.[71] MLMA also starred in a commercial for the shoes, which were distributed to celebrities like Kim Kardashian before being made available for sale to the general public.[72][73]

In December 2020, KFC UK and Ireland in partnership with Cooler Master announced the "KFConsole", which would be a gaming console "capable of running games at top-level specs, all on top of keeping your meal warm for you to enjoy during your gaming experience". The console would include a patented "Chicken Chamber", which utilizes the heat and airflow system of the console to heat fried chicken.[74][75] No further announcement has been made regarding a product release.

DC comics one-shots

[edit]

Between 2015 and 2017, KFC and DC Comics partnered to publish three one-shot comic books: The Colonel of Two Worlds, The Colonel Corps, and Across the Universe, each featuring KFC mascot Colonel Sanders working with popular DC superheroes such as Green Lantern and the Flash. Originally exclusively available at various comic cons, they were later made available for free download by DC.

In The Colonel of Two Worlds, a new, evil version of Colonel Sanders, Colonel Sunder from Earth-3, teams up with Mirror Master and Captain Cold to tarnish the reputation of the original Sanders, and he and the Flash set out to set things right. In Colonel Corps, Colonel Sunder, the Anti-Colonel, with the aid of Colonel Grodd (a Colonel version of Gorilla Grodd) returns to the Multiverse, who steals the secret recipe to KFC's chicken from the minds of various versions of the Colonel from across the Multiverse. Sanders allies with ten other versions of himself from other realities to defeat the duo. In Across the Universe, the Colonel goes cosmic in a star-spanning quest to bring crunchy, spicy satisfaction to a hungry universe, only to face a "thieving varmint" who steals his space-bound Zinger chicken sandwiches that he and Green Lantern must defeat.[76][77][78]

NASCAR sponsorships

[edit]
Greg Biffle's No. 16 KFC-sponsored car in 2016

KFC has marketed with various NASCAR teams, sponsoring several cars on a limited basis throughout the years.[79]

KFC's first appearance in NASCAR was in the NASCAR Cup Series in 1972, sponsoring Buddy Arrington's No. 67 car beginning with the Daytona 500.[80] During the 1980s, KFC franchisee Rick Jeffrey raced in NASCAR with such sponsorship.[81]

In 1997, to promote its newly introduced Chicken Twister, KFC created "Team Twister" to sponsor drivers across NASCAR's three national series (Cup, Busch, Truck) during the sport's race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis Raceway Park. Rich Bickle of Darrell Waltrip Motorsports was Team Twister's Cup driver at Indianapolis, while Kenny Irwin Jr. (Liberty Racing) and Mike Skinner (Great Dane Racing) represented KFC in the Busch and Truck Series at IRP, respectively.[82] However, Irwin failed to qualify for his race and Rick Fuller raced with the KFC sponsorship instead.[83] Skinner and Bickle had previously driven KFC cars in the Busch Series in 1994 while employed by Gene Petty, as did David Hyder.[84][85][86] Other KFC Busch Series one-off sponsorships during the decade included Ed Berrier in 1994 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and Tim Fedewa in 1995 at Bristol Motor Speedway.[87][88]

Several years later in 2004, KFC sponsored Busch team Chance 2 Motorsports' No. 8 for some races with Martin Truex Jr. and a race at Daytona International Speedway with Dale Earnhardt Jr.[89]

KFC did not return to NASCAR until 2014, serving as a sponsor for Cup team Front Row Motorsports that year and in 2015. KFC was on the No. 34 of David Ragan both years, and on the No. 35 of Cole Whitt in 2015 only.[90][91] In 2016, KFC moved to Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor the No. 16 of Greg Biffle, again for a limited number of races.[92]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Coomes, Steve (March 11, 2014). "John Y. Brown Jr.: Colonel's sale of KFC 50 years ago changed restaurant industry forever". Insider Louisville. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  2. ^ Cooking up Profits, Southern Style. Business Week. June 24, 1967. p. 180.
  3. ^ Thomas, R. David (October 1, 1992). Dave's Way: A New Approach to Old-Fashioned Success. Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-425-13501-3. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  4. ^ President and Fellows of Harvard College (1994). PepsioCo's Restaurants. Boston: Harvard Business School. p. 9.
  5. ^ Martin, Douglas (April 20, 2006). "Henderson Forsythe, 88, Character Actor, Dies". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "KFC creates animated Colonel for new ads". Augusta Chronicle. Georgia. Associated Press. September 4, 1998. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015.
  7. ^ a b "Modern Day Marketing Challenge" (Press release). PR Newswire. September 4, 1998.
  8. ^ "KFC's legendary Colonel Sanders rides again". Brandweek. Vol. 35, no. 22. May 30, 1994. p. 4. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. (Abstract only)
  9. ^ Howard, Theresa (September 28, 1998). "New Products : KFC, with Pepsi, Mulls Putting New 'Colonel' on Proprietary Beverage". Brandweek. Archived from the original on May 21, 2015. (Via HighBeam)
  10. ^ a b White, Jeremy (January 18, 2002). "KFC seeks a modern identity beyond the animated Colonel". Campaign. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  11. ^ 4000 cooks on YouTube
  12. ^ a b "KFC Pays Homage To The Legacy Of Colonel Sanders With New Brand Look, Voice" (Press release). KFC via PRNewswire. May 19, 2015. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  13. ^ La Monica, Paul R. (May 19, 2015). "KFC is bringing back Colonel Sanders". CNN. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  14. ^ "KFC has 'Last Comic Standing' judge Norm Macdonald as new Colonel". Business Insider. August 17, 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  15. ^ Johnson, Lauren (February 6, 2016). "KFC Swaps Out Norm Macdonald for Jim Gaffigan as Its Latest 'Real' Colonel". Adweek. Archived from the original on August 17, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  16. ^ Moran, Victoria (June 23, 2016). "KFC Brings in an Extra-Bronzed George Hamilton to Play Extra Crispy Colonel". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on August 21, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  17. ^ Miller, Kate (September 8, 2016). "Watch Rob Riggle as KFC's newest Colonel Sanders". The Kansas City Star. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2016.
  18. ^ Wohl, Jessica (January 25, 2017). "See the Spot: KFC's Latest Celebrity Colonel Goes for the Gold". Advertising Age. Archived from the original on September 20, 2019. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  19. ^ Rob Lowe as astronaut Col Sanders in JFK homage advert, KFC (April 21, 2017), KFC | Announcement | Zinger, archived from the original on April 21, 2017, retrieved April 21, 2017
  20. ^ "KFC Explores The Final Frontier With Colonel Rob Lowe". PR Newswire. April 21, 2017. Archived from the original on April 29, 2017. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  21. ^ "KFC Taps Obscure Actor for 'Value Colonel' Ads". Archived from the original on January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  22. ^ "Reba McEntire to play KFC's Colonel Sanders". CBS News. January 26, 2018. Archived from the original on January 27, 2018. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  23. ^ Tobin, Ben (August 6, 2018). "KFC taps former 'Seinfeld' star Jason Alexander as new Colonel Sanders". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  24. ^ Wohl, Jessica (November 11, 2018). "See the spot: KFC's Colonel gets a dance partner to hawk chicken and waffles". Ad Age. Archived from the original on November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  25. ^ "KFC Commissions RoboCop As Its Newest Colonel – And Guardian Of Its Coveted Secret Recipe Of 11 Herbs & Spices". prnewswire.com (Press release). Archived from the original on March 6, 2019. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  26. ^ "CMO Q&A: How KFC's Colonel Sanders reboot 'broke the Internet' – twice". January 27, 2016. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  27. ^ "KFC just revealed the newest star of its polarizing Colonel Sanders ads". Business Insider. February 6, 2016. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
  28. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (September 10, 2019). "KFC is apparently creating a Colonel Sanders dating sim". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  29. ^ "I Love You, Colonel Sanders! A Finger Lickin' Good Dating Simulator". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  30. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (September 24, 2019). "The KFC dating game is not sexy ... not sexy at all". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  31. ^ O'Keefe, Brian (November 26, 2001). "What Do KFC and Pizza Hut Conjure Up Abroad?". Fortune. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  32. ^ Liu, Warren (September 26, 2008). KFC in China: Secret Recipe for Success. Wiley. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-470-82384-2. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved April 13, 2013.
  33. ^ "North America's Hospitality Dish". Trademarkia. KFC Corporation. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  34. ^ Dukes, Terry (2000). "KFC: The Animated Colonel Campaign". Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. WARC [World Advertising Center]. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
  35. ^ a b c d e Momen Putrym, Goldie (February 21, 2010). "So Good? KFC Drops Famous Catchphrase". Sky News. Archived from the original on July 19, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  36. ^ "IT'S FINGER LICKIN' GOOD — Reviews & Brand Information — KFC Corporation Louisville, TX — Serial Number: 72209171". Trademarkia. Archived from the original on October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  37. ^ Reynolds, John (April 6, 2011). "Profile: Jennelle Tilling, vice-president of marketing, UK and Ireland at KFC". PR Week. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
  38. ^ Thornton, Phil (May 31, 1998). "True lies". The Sun Herald (Sydney, Australia).
  39. ^ "KFC drops Finger Lickin' Good slogan amid coronavirus". BBC. August 25, 2020. Archived from the original on February 3, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
  40. ^ a b c Rogers, Ian (June 9, 2012). "The Mystery of the Colonel". Grey Not Grey. Archived from the original on November 24, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2014.
  41. ^ Koeppel, Dan (September 3, 1990). "The Feathers Are Really Flying At Kentucky Fried". Adweek.
  42. ^ a b Lovan, Dylan T. (November 13, 2006). "Colonel Sanders gets a makeover in new KFC logo". The Associated Press State & Local Wire.
  43. ^ Rood, George (January 5, 1969). "Accidental Competitor in Chicken Game Is Winner". The New York Times.
  44. ^ Carey, Bill (September 30, 2005). Master of the Big Board: The Life, Times And Businesses of Jack Massey. Cumberland House Publishing. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-58182-471-1. Archived from the original on January 27, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  45. ^ a b Darden, Robert (January 1, 2004). Secret Recipe: Why Kfc Is Still Cooking After 50 Years. Tapestry Press. pp. 12, 57–58, 101, 159, 175, 211. ISBN 978-1-930819-33-7.
  46. ^ Birkenes, Robert (August 13, 2009). "Before He Became a Film Legend, John Hughes Was an Adman". Ad Age. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  47. ^ Georgescu, Peter (July 2005). The Source of Success: Five Enduring Principles at the Heart of Real Leadership. John Wiley & Sons. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7879-8133-4. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
  48. ^ Elliott, Stuart (May 19, 1992). "KFC's Very Real Problems May Be Solved in Lake Edna". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  49. ^ Poultry and Egg Marketing. Poultry & Egg News, Incorporated. 1979. p. vii. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  50. ^ O'Shaughnessy, Nicholas J. (2004). Politics and Propaganda: Weapons of Mass Seduction. Manchester University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-7190-6853-9. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
  51. ^ Delaney, Tom (June 3, 1985). "KFC Cooks Up New $80-Mil. Media Plan". Adweek.
  52. ^ Dougherty, Phillip H. (June 28, 1982). "Minority Marketing". The New York Times.
  53. ^ Elliott, Stuart (May 19, 1992). "KFC's Very Real Problems May Be Solved in Lake Edna". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 16, 2013.
  54. ^ David Novak; John Boswell (October 9, 2007). The Education of an Accidental CEO: My Journey from the Trailer Park to the Corner Office. Crown Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 978-0-307-40565-4.
  55. ^ Sampey, Kathleen (June 23, 2003). "KFC Drops Alexander". Adweek. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  56. ^ Day, Sherri (September 18, 2003). "KFC Dismisses BBDO Worldwide". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  57. ^ Jensen, Trevor (February 24, 2004). "KFC Won't Be 'Eating Healthy' in Future". Adweek. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved October 11, 2013.
  58. ^ Warneford, Penny (November 28, 1994). "Going Global". Adweek.
  59. ^ Barrett, Patrick (January 22, 1997). "KFC". Marketing Magazine. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved January 27, 2013.
  60. ^ a b "KFC revives 'Finger Lickin' Good' strapline in press ads". Marketing Week. April 14, 2008. Archived from the original on May 8, 2013. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
  61. ^ "KFC advert is the most complained-about campaign of all time". The Independent. May 30, 2012. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2017.
  62. ^ a b Wohl, Jessica (December 17, 2018). "Creativity All-Stars: Ana Balarin, Meghan Farren and Hermeti Balarin". Advertising Age. 89 (25): 22. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  63. ^ IANS (June 28, 2018). "KFC announces first Indian Colonel Sanders". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  64. ^ By (July 3, 2018). "KFC brings in new ad campaign". Financial Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 2, 2019. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  65. ^ IANS (August 24, 2019). "Celebrity status to KFC's Zinger, gets a statue at Madame Tussauds". National Herald. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  66. ^ "Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013" (PDF). BrandZ. WPP. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  67. ^ Johnston, Chris (August 11, 1998). "KFC Serves Up Steaming Hot Pokemon". Gamespot. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
  68. ^ Sherwin, Adam (April 10, 1999). "The returns of the Jedi". The Times.
  69. ^ "Commercial Partners". Cricket Australia. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
  70. ^ Bartiromo, Michael (December 13, 2018). "KFC's chicken-scented yule logs sell out within hours". Fox News. Archived from the original on December 13, 2018. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  71. ^ Goldfine, Jael (February 12, 2020). "MLMA Serves Up Cursed Fashion in Crispy Crocs". Paper. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  72. ^ Wida, Erica Chayes (July 27, 2020). "Crocs just released KFC clogs – and they actually smell like chicken". Today. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  73. ^ Zhang, Jenny G. (July 23, 2020). "Feast Your Eyes on the Chicken-Scented KFC x Crocs Collaboration". Eater. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  74. ^ Jack Guy (December 23, 2020). "KFC launches game console that keeps your chicken warm". CNN. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  75. ^ "Introducing... The KFConsole | Cooler Master". Introducing... The KFConsole | Cooler Master. Archived from the original on December 25, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
  76. ^ "Colonel Sanders, The Flash Team Up for NY Comic Con's 'The Colonel of Two Worlds' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  77. ^ Opam, Kwame (July 5, 2016). "Admit it: you wish Colonel Sanders were a super-powered chicken". The Verge. Archived from the original on February 25, 2020. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  78. ^ "Colonel Sanders Teams Up With Green Lantern For New Comic Book". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
  79. ^ "Greg Biffle will drive 'Nashville Hot' KFC NASCAR at Daytona 500". Autoweek. February 2, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  80. ^ "Buddy Arrington – 1972 NASCAR Winston Cup Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  81. ^ Terhune, Jim (May 8, 1988). "The racer from Prospect chases a dream". The Courier-Journal. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  82. ^ "KFC(R) First Company to Sponsor Three NASCAR Race Teams". The Auto Channel. July 15, 1997. Archived from the original on February 19, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  83. ^ "1997 Kroger NASCAR 200 Presented by ZipLoc". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  84. ^ "Mike Skinner – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  85. ^ "Rich Bickle – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  86. ^ "David Hyder – 1994 NASCAR Busch Grand National Series Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  87. ^ "1994 All Pro Bumper to Bumper 300". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  88. ^ "1995 Goody's 250". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media. Archived from the original on January 13, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  89. ^ "KFC is on the Fast Track with Dale Earnhardt Jr. as He Makes His Debut in His First KFC Commercial and on Commemorative Buckets". KFC (Press release). Business Wire. June 4, 2004. Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  90. ^ DiZinno, Tony (February 6, 2015). "NASCAR: David Ragan to ride with KFC partnership at Daytona 500". NBC Sports. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  91. ^ Schwartz, Nick (July 12, 2015). "NASCAR driver Cole Whitt wears awesome Colonel Sanders race suit in Kentucky". USA Today. For The Win. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  92. ^ "Greg Biffle will drive 'Nashville Hot' KFC NASCAR at Daytona 500". Autoweek. February 2, 2016. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 26, 2020.