Dive Brief:
- KFC debuted a new song and ad that sees mascot Colonel Sanders bust several moves to promote the fast food chain’s Value Feast menu, according to a press release.
- The single, “Finger Lickin’ Machine,” is available on social media and music streaming services, including Spotify, as the chain positions the track as more than just a jingle. An extended cut of the ad is meant to play like a music video as the Colonel defies greedy executives to champion affordable fried chicken.
- In addition, the mascot will visit Los Angeles to hand out limited-edition physical versions of “Finger Lickin’ Machine” and Box Feasts to content creators. The creative builds on last year’s return of the Colonel to KFC’s advertising while emphasizing value as consumers contend with inflation.
Dive Insight:
KFC is putting the Colonel to work as a dancing rebel with a new song and ad campaign that support the brand’s Value Feast menu lineup, including new Box Feasts meals that come in $7, $9 and $11 combinations. “Finger Lickin’ Machine” is meant to emulate the type of viral videos that stop consumers mid-scroll on social media, the brand said in the release.
The ad shows the Colonel attending a shadowy boardroom meeting as businessmen balk at the idea of charging so little for so much food. The mascot then jumps up on the table and begins an elaborate dance — including stuffing a sandwich into one of the complaining suit’s mouths — before taking his routine to the streets to hand out fried chicken to the people. The spot closes with him effortlessly scaling a skyscraper and gliding over the rooftops before plugging the Value Feast.
Siblings Rich and Tone Talauega handled choreography while Tom Kuntz directed the ads. The “Finger Lickin’ Machine” song is also available on streaming platforms including Spotify as KFC tries to capitalize on what it calls “sound-on” moments.
The music-driven effort follows KFC putting the Colonel back at the center of its advertising last July after the mascot spent several years on the back burner. The Colonel previously expressed displeasure at the state of KFC’s affairs following a run of slumping sales and was reintroduced to herald a “comeback era” from the Yum Brands chain, including through the deployment of more culturally tapped-in marketing.
Agency Highdive is behind the revamped creative strategy. KFC in September also appointed Melissa Cash as its U.S. CMO, poaching the executive from rival Wingstop.
For KFC, trendier marketing has been wedded with heavy messaging around value as the fast food category struggles to win back price-sensitive diners. The brand has shown some signs of recovery, with same-store sales, an important measure of restaurant health, up 1% in the U.S. in Q4, marking KFC’s second consecutive quarter of positive growth.
Other brands are exploring music videos and original songs to create an impact with consumers that are tuning out traditional advertising. Hollister, the youth-focused Abercrombie & Fitch label, developed a music video for the recent launch of its summer campaign. The apparel maker’s seasonal push features the first official cover of Green Day’s “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),” with the rendition done by singer-songwriter Gigi Perez.
