Clever. Fast food is not top of the pops right now. Fried fast food even less so. So Ogilvy Sydney has moved KFC’s story away from people enjoying buckets of the stuff.
The theme of the new ad is that life should always be finger lickin’ good. KFC’s first-ever major brand campaign in Australia aims to connect KFC customers with an ethos that does in fact belong to KFC’s founder, Colonel Sanders.
Of course, the stated intention of an ad is not always equal to to its takeout. This is a cool ad that a young audience will, no doubt, be talking about next week: Plucka Duck glides down an undulating mountain road on a skateboard to a surf punk rock tune.
Ogilvy Sydney’s group creative director, Shaun Branagan, explained the ad perfectly,
“We realise that many people might see the creative and think ‘ What? A duck on a skateboard for KFC? But for a brand that traditionally has focussed on its food, and a company with a history of being original, it was important KFC’s first foray into brand advertising was designed to provoke.
“As a result, the first element of the campaign is a deliberate mashup of pop culture icons; the mischievous Plucka Duck, who was always up for a stunt no matter how madcap, and longboard skateboarding which encapsulates sheer exhilaration and freedom. All set to a legendary surf punk music track that was a smash hit in its day and more recently on Family Guy, with the lyrics ‘the bird is the word’ which of course is Aussie slang for KFC. It all represents the unique and original that is the KFC brand.”
Plucka has not been seen on Australian television since Hey Hey It’s Saturday ceased broadcasting. It was a Saturday night “institution” for 27 years until November 1999. It returned for one season in 2010.
The new campaign is a radical departure from the KFC advertising that has run in Australia since the brand launched here. It’s first time that KFC has clearly stated its brand purpose in Australia, and launched work that did not focus on its chicken as a visual centre point.
Nikki Lawson, chief marketing and development officer KFC SOPAC, noted, “We know that Australians love KFC’s chicken, but we wanted to ensure that affection extended to the KFC brand itself. So we looked to its founder, Colonel Sanders to get to the heart of what the KFC brand stands for. It was his original recipe, values and life embracing approach that continue to shine today.
“Life moves at a fast pace and there seems to be a greater need to fit-in, and conform with everyone else, and sometimes a bit of our uniqueness, what makes us special, can get suppressed. We want everyone to celebrate their originality. The new campaign explores this concept, clearly connecting it back to the KFC brand.”
Ogilvy Sydney was responsible for developing the strategy and all executions including TVCs, cinema, website, digital display, social and digital content. The digital elements and TVCs are live from January 22, and cinema goes live on January 28.
The ad will run on TV in a 60 second form and a 30 cutdown, as a 60 in cinema and online with an extra 10 second teaser pre-roll.
Credits:
Strategy and creative: Ogilvy Sydney
Shaun Branagan: Creative Director
Scott Sparks: Senior Art Director
Jenny Mak: Senior Copywriter
Ryan O’Connell: Deputy Head of Strategy
Executive Business Director: Leigh Bignell
Group Account Director: Katie Dally
Account Director: Elaine Arthur
Account Manager: Anna Michael
Production Company: Interrogate
Director: Ash Bolland
Executive Producer: Tara Riddell
DOP: Lachlan Milne
Editing: The Editors
Online: Cutting Edge
VFX Artist: Jonathan Hairman
Producer: Aaron Dexter
Audio post production: Rumble Studios
Sound Engineer: Nat Joyce
Producer: Jessica Hamilton
Agency Producer: Amanda Bennie
Media planning and buying: Mediacom
PR: Edelman
