KFC Ditching Col. Sanders for Young Face?
After its grilled-chicken promo with Oprah got burned, KFC has decided to try out a new recipe: direct outreach to fans. In a campaign that launched yesterday, the fast-food chicken maker is searching for what it called the new face of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Sorry, Colonel: Your beaming, slightly irascible visage might just be scrapped for that of a real, live person. From now till July 7, you can upload a video of yourself to a KFC MySpace page. Describe why you're the company's ultimate fan, and you win fast-food chicken for life - more than $13,000 in gift checks. (Of course, start cashing those checks for daily buckets of Extra Crispy, and you might be forced to recalculate your expected life span. Just sayin'.) You'll also have the chance to, according to a company press release, "represent KFC as the next American icon, potentially even appearing in future KFC advertising." Watch out, Jared: Your fat-pants shtick for Subway might soon be eclipsed by some new talent just itching to break out the chicken dance in a future campaign. Three finalists will be announced July 25. Beginning August 1, the public votes for its favorite. Meanwhile, catch the would-be Colonel killers at MySpace.
They just might be tired of looking at a guy that has been dead for a while. It isn't a new concept. Mobil Oil used to have a winged Pegasus icon. If none of the "Colonels" relatives are on the board of directors, these changes become much easier over time. I'm sure the customer will be able to find that greasy, but tasty, chicken without him.