How KFC's Colonel Sanders is Crushing the Street Fighter Competition
Ryu. Chun-Li. Cammy. Throughout the history of the ‘Street Fighter’ franchise, these names have undoubtedly risen to worldwide popularity and fame. But, thanks to the recent efforts of KFC Canada and creative agency Courage, a new name has joined that list: ‘Chef Colonel Sanders’.
Representing the brand’s first foray into the world of attaching reward opportunities to playing video games, this idea came to pass through the feature that enables players to design shareable avatars on ‘World Tour’ mode. As such, until August 31st, players who rock the iconic chef will have a chance to get any combo they want at KFC… all by landing combos in game and sharing it with the brand on social media.
LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Courage’s associate creative directors Hemal Dhanjee and Steve Ierullo to learn more about how this fun, original campaign came to life.
LBB> What was the brief for this campaign, and how did the idea of tying KFC combos to fighting game combos come to mind?
Hemal> The idea came to life pretty serendipitously. We had just moved into our new office, and decided to christen it with a brand new Xbox. [Steve and I are both Street Fighter heads, so we bought the game and quickly learned that you can create your own shareable avatar on World Tour mode. What’s more, these original characters are called ‘recipes’, which is what KFC has always been known for – its original recipe.
So, before the project was even green-lit, we started creating our version of Colonel Sanders, building his physique, unlocking his wardrobe, and banking the assets we’d need to make it campaign-ready. But something was missing. Like any great digital campaign, we needed a reason for Street Fighter fans to do it – a value exchange that not only rewarded them for their efforts, but felt authentic to the game itself. So, we decided to turn Street Fighter combos into KFC combos by asking chicken fans to screen record themselves using the Chef Colonel Sanders avatar, do a combo, and tag ‘@kfc_canada’ for the clone’s original recipe chicken. The harder the combo, the better the deal.
LBB> And what made ‘Street Fighter 6’ the perfect platform to achieve this?
Steve> Street Fighter is one of those games with cross-generational appeal. Millennials love it because they grew up with it. Gen z loves it because it’s one of the most streamable games on Twitch. So, we saw this as an opportunity to share KFC’s messaging through one of the fastest growing industries in the world – esports and gaming.
Not to mention, this isn’t KFC’s first rodeo in the gaming world. The Colonel has previously appeared in ‘WWE 2K18’, ‘Arena of Valor’ and ‘Soulcalibur’. However, this marks the first time KFC has integrated a promotional aspect into a game – building both brand and customer loyalty at the same time.
LBB> Tell us about the design process for Chef Colonel Sanders. How long did this take, how many people were involved, and how did you ensure the final result looked authentic?
Hemal> It took about a week to design Chef Colonel Sanders. Our approach was to adapt the Colonel’s iconic look to a Street Fighter aesthetic. We started with the fundamentals: his white hair, facial structure, and facial hair. For his physique, we wanted to give him a body that fit the Street Fighter vibe… so we gave him huge pecs, big biceps and washboard abs.
Steve> From there, we started unlocking his wardrobe. After hours of gameplay, we were able to dress him in his signature black glasses, white collared shirt, white pants and black loafers, creating a fight-ready version of the Colonel that could go pound for pound with the likes of Ryu, Guile and Akuma.
LBB> Building on this, what is designing a campaign for the gaming-sphere like? How does it compare to the traditional creative process, and are there any special things you have to ensure when targeting such a specific demographic and audience?
Steve> Great ads consistently push the boundaries of what advertising could be. While it’s true that this isn’t your traditional advertising campaign, the formula is pretty much the same: finding a creative adjacency between brand and culture. This is a great example of creating brand relevance by finding an intersection between an iconic brand and an iconic piece of popular gaming culture.
But, finding that relevance is only half of the equation. To really make an idea like this breakthrough, you need to have an immense respect for your audience, speak their language, and execute it with a high level of craft. This is because, at the end of the day, authenticity is everything!
LBB> What challenges did you face during this project? And do you have any memorable lessons learned from this experience?
Steve> The biggest challenge was being the first brand to do it. Every day was a race against time. Simply put, you can’t sit on an idea like this. Either another brand will do it, or you’ll miss your chance to strike while the iron’s hot.
Hemal> If you have an idea you love, don’t just wait for something to happen. Bring it to life that second, and be relentless in executing the vision that’s in your head!
LBB> What has the initial response been like? How many people have played as the Colonel?
Hemal> The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Countless gamers and Twitch streamers have been cooking up combos as Chef Colonel Sanders – some even doing 14-hit attack combos (which, if you’re a ‘SF6’ fan, is super hard to do). On the PR side, the campaign has been covered by tons of gaming, culture and design websites and publications, who have largely given our badass Colonel amazing reviews.
LBB> Have you played as the Colonel yourself? And if so, what’s the best combo you’ve managed to land?
Steve> We’ve managed to pull off a 15-hit attack combo from Ryu. But, after countless hours of button mashing, our fingers are now blistered. If any esports teams are reading this, we’re accepting offers.
