The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2015–2017
KFC resurrected Colonel Sanders as comedians and sales climbed
Rotating celebrity Colonels (Norm Macdonald, Darrell Hammond, Rob Lowe) revived KFC; six straight quarters of growth, Effie.
KFC
The solution
KFC's sales had slumped for years as rivals like Chick-fil-A thrived, and its data showed three out of five millennials had never tried the brand. Millennials distrusted advertising, so conventional brand messages were the wrong tool.
The Return of Colonel Sanders brought the founder back as an over-the-top salesman played by a rotating cast of comedians — Norm Macdonald, Darrell Hammond, Rob Lowe and more — always in the white suit, beard and glasses. Young audiences understood the joke: this was a brand running toward the absurdity of selling.
The self-aware comedy disarmed millennial distrust while the iconic look kept the campaign unmistakably KFC. Same-store sales climbed for six straight quarters, and the work won a 2017 North American Effie in the Renaissance category.
Why it worked
- Multiple Colonels kept the character fresh while the look preserved recognition
- Comedy defused the used-car-salesman risk of a founder revival
- Millennials' distrust of ads was disarmed by self-aware over-the-top selling
- Same-store sales climbed six straight quarters as the campaign ran
What can be applied
A stale heritage asset can be revived by treating it as a character to be reinterpreted — keep the icon consistent, vary the performance.
Aftermath
KFC's same-store sales rose for six consecutive quarters, the campaign won a 2017 North American Effie in the Renaissance category, and the Colonel's revival ran through later iterations — including Reba McEntire — as a permanent brand asset.
Sources
- KFC executive says fast food chicken chain going through 're-Colonelization'
- ATOMCK & The NA Effie Awards Present: 2017 Winner Spotlight - KFC
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