KFC and Mother Take Chicken Town to Hollywood

KFC has launched a cinema campaign to remind fried chicken lovers across the UK that – although there may be many restaurants out there that emulate and imitate – there’s only one place to get KFC’s Original Recipe Chicken: KFC.

Brokered by Blue449 and SPP in collaboration with Digital Cinema Media (DCM), the campaign will be executed as five separate pieces of specially curated cinema content, appearing in the UK across the second half of the year.

The content series will be inspired by some of the most highly anticipated Hollywood films launching in 2019, kicking off with the recently released Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.

Within these films, KFC will be running a 90-second piece of content. The first 60-second is KFC’s brand ad, created by Mother, which sees Colonel Sanders cruising past the familiar range of fried chicken pretenders. Though they try to match the name and draw heavy inspiration from the logo, the reality is this legion of imitators can never match the iconic taste of KFC.

The following 30-second will be a bespoke content series that has been produced by DCM’s creative division, DCM Studios, in partnership with production agency, Recipe, specifically for the big screen. The cinema creatives will aim to trick audiences into thinking the film is about to start, mimicking the look and feel of the upcoming feature, before revealing that it’s in fact a tongue-in-cheek imitation.

The campaign strategy is to make the point that you are unable to compete with the original, both in terms of KFC’s famous recipe and when it comes to a Hollywood film.

Alongside the launch of the second creative and running until the end of the campaign, KFC will also use Cinemapper, DCM’s cinema proximity planning tool, and DCM’s end frame technology to target audiences on a local level, with localised messages directing them to their nearest KFC restaurant.

Meghan Farren, chief marketing officer at KFC UK & Ireland, said: “Everyone knows we keep our recipe under lock and key, but the real secret behind the iconic taste of KFC is that we bread our chicken by hand – all day, every day – just as the Colonel did. In each of our kitchens, our cooks invest their time, effort and skill into it… and that’s the reason you can only get KFC at KFC. We partnered with Blue449, DCM and Recipe to create content for the big screen that would cunningly engage viewers and reinforce our position as the original fried chicken brand.” 

Chris Smith, managing partner, Blue449, said: “Bringing this latest campaign to cinema has required a great amount of collaboration and it is an obvious fit for the brand. Adapting content for the big screen will enable a powerful association with great movie content while contextualising KFC’s key message – you can only get KFC at KFC.”

Jeremy Kolesar, creative director – DCM Studios, Digital Cinema Media, added: "Just as cinematic content is continually evolving, the use of bespoke branded content is also continuing to push new ground on the big screen. Through DCM Studios we have been able to create tailored, stand-out movie-style content to engage KFC’s target audience in a fun, appealing way in cinema’s unique environment."