PS21: A lifetime of free KFC – but you have to have died

Mexicans and Aussies have very different attitudes to death. We fear it, don’t talk about it, don’t think about it, don’t deal with it. In Mexico, death is seen as a natural part of the human cycle. Death even has its own holiday, Day of the Dead, for remembering those who have died. Mexicans believe that souls return to the world of the living every November 2.

In Australia, you’d have to believe that this KFC campaign would be considered on the extreme edge of brave. Correction, that it would be seen as dangerous – for all sorts of reasons. That it would never get through.

Spanish agency, PS 21, is hoping that people in its realm are in synch with the theme of Day of the Dead. Its campaign, Los Retornados, for KFC’s Mexican inspired Chickadilla, invites people to publish their own obituary in any newspaper – national, regional or local – and share it on social networks with a KFC hashtag to prove they have died (and obviously, been brought back to life) to be eligible for a prize. KFC will give away Chickadilla’s for life to those who prove they’ve returned from dying.

The campaign is led by a 90-second video in which real people who have had near-death experiences explain what it’s like to be on the other side. The campaign video, its 30-second cutdown and several digital pieces will promote the idea on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram.