KFC drops a C-bomb and finally talks about chicken welfare
KFC, a strong creative advertiser, is often pinned on its treatment of poultry, so its latest campaign looks to showcase its improvements in this troubled space. It’s dropping a huge campaign during a supposed C-Bomb-laden press conference with a bargain bucket.
Launching on Friday July 23 on Channel 4, the campaign from Mother builds upon the fast-food restaurant’s efforts to improve animal welfare at its sites. KFC UK & Ireland recently became the only business to be awarded top tier status in World Animal Protection’s Pecking Order 2021 report.
It is now using this marketplace superiority to stand-out from rivals and get consumers thinking. Beyond the moral case, KFC argues that “serving quality chicken starts with high animal welfare standards on farms, and with sourcing birds that have had a good life“.
And that brings us to the campaign. When it had a chicken shortage (demand is high after all), KFC famously posted a FCK. This time, it is leaning on a C-bomb. No, not that one. ’Chicken’. KFC talking about chicken welfare is a big deal and will be enjoying TV airtime and print advertising as well as digital and social. Going further into the topic, its latest brand marketing includes a content series called ’Behind the Bucket’ that highlights its attempts to meet its wider social responsibility.
Jack Hinchliffe, marketing director at KFC UK & Ireland, says: “Chicken welfare is incredibly important to us. We’ve been on a journey over the last few years to raise standards and drive transparency – but we know we haven’t done a good enough job actually talking about chickens and their welfare head-on. That’s going to change.“
The campaign acknowledges a fault, that the company has not been as visible on welfare as it could’ve been. The intent is to communicate that it is no longer skirting around the issue.
Hinchcliffe concludes: “Although we know there is much more to do on welfare, we’re incredibly proud of our progress so far and want everyone across the UK and Ireland to know.”
Concluding, James Ross-Edwards, creative director at Mother, says: “KFC’s commitment to chicken welfare is a big deal, so we wanted to make sure it got the attention it deserves. Plus, what an honor to be dropping the C-Bomb on national TV.”