Advert of the Year!

 

KFC have often come up with well composed adverts that don’t follow a formula but are always interesting. It was not too long ago that they presented Colonel Sanders looking like some kind of Mafia boss riding around in a large shiny car, face hidden from view, KFC branches reflected in the vehicles’ exterior. This year though they have excelled themselves with `Believe in Chicken`, an advert that has made people laugh out loud, always an achievement. Like the best ads it is simple, effective and memorable. I know it’s only August but this could be the advert of the year!

 

The narrative takes its cue from the seemingly endless reams of bad news and difficult scenarios we seem to have lived through recently. Of course the difference for us now is that everything is amplified by social media. In a city centre launderette, we see clips of news bulletins about the troubled world particularly in relation to Artificial Intelligence – one suggest there have been accusations that the Minister for AI isn’t real!  A repetitive thrumming dance beat, incorporating both techno and Gregorian chants, starts up and grows louder as we see increasingly large numbers of people abandoning what they are doing, even leaving vehicles aside, and moving to this music in a dance that looks like a cross between a chicken and a zombie. They are Believers who have put their faith in chicken!

It has shades of a flashmobs as these groups of people move through a city centre all headed for one destination. Even parked vehicles are joining in the with the movement. They are all drawn to a large square surrounded by impressive civic buildings where they surround a dancing chicken. As the music gets more intense so the dancing rooster is lifted on its podium so everyone can see it before the words BELIEVE IN CHICKEN appear in bold red letters. It is like a film trailer and actually works best in the cinema where the sound system picks up the depths of the beat far better than if you see it on a television or laptop.

The advert was created by one of the foremost  advertising agencies the Mother agency and is at the centre of a wider campaign said to be the largest KFC has ever launched. In the weeks before the ad debuted, there were a variety of teaser posters in a striking red and black palette on vehicles and billboards that boldly omitted the KFC logo to appear more enigmatic. They almost had the tone of political posters except for the food references so they sported slogans like `lost all belief` or `trust in herbs, trust in spices`. Another stunt was the drawing of a two hundred and sixty foot sized chicken in a field under main flight path to Gatwick Airport which could be seen by planes landing. The ad itself officially debuted on 14 June during the Euros football tournament.

The advert itself was directed by Vedran Rupic with Paris based Sven Lesoria choreographing the strange dance and John Connon the music. Rupic said: “Its bold clear and simple. The viewer should feel like they want to move after seeing this.” The movement was choreographed to build tension along with the soundtrack. The dancers’ moves are designed to mimic the particular way poultry walk so there are head bobs and when they take a step forward with one leg and then follow with a smaller step creating a walk that when humans do it looks like they are staggering rather than walking.  In one moment, a woman head appears to peck at a tv screen as a chicken might. The dancing chicken itself is not a real bird, instead an animatronic version was used. The distinctive music is called `Versi` and created by Vedran, Albin Lindberg and Martin Permer. It has not been released to the public so far maybe because its more of a vibe than a tune.

There is definitely ambition behind what seems like a frivolous idea. KFC's Monica Pool has been quoted as expressing the hope that this will help the firm become one of the most iconic brands in the UK with a particular target being younger people. Certainly the video has TikTok appeal aplenty and is worlds away from the US centred Deep South imagery of the Colonel.

The campaign also debuts a new typeface which has been amusingly called Original Recipe which KFC will use in the future. The typeface is said to be variable meaning the letters can be randomised and appear slightly different each time they are typed. In their fun official statement about the ad campaign, KFC say “the mad world we live in is an unreliable place. Disappointment haunts you wherever you turn. The weather, your partner, your job, your team, your ability to get a seat on a train, the fact that crisp packets are half full. What can we even believe in anymore? Don’t lose hope. There’s still something to trust. Something to believe in. Chicken. Its always good. Always there. And always there. Believe. In. Chicken.” I wonder what the Colonel thinks about it all?

Watch the advert https://youtu.be/UrfQaMAH0Ss?si=MRTi2rH0V7qguvYj