LOUISVILLE Ky. KFC unveiled Thursday its “Fresh Tastes Best” TV campaign intended to highlight the chain’s legacy of freshness and its two new initiatives: a completely trans-fat-free menu and its “Unbeatable Feast” promotion.
That meal deal includes 10 pieces of Original Recipe chicken, two family-size orders of mashed potatoes and gravy, one large order of coleslaw, and five biscuits for $14.99.
The campaign comes as KFC works to improve its fortunes. The quick-service chicken chain was a drag on parent company Yum! Brands Inc.’s U.S. performance during much of 2008. For the third quarter ended last Sept. 6, same-store sales fell 4 percent at KFC and the 5,300-unit chain posted an operating loss, even as its siblings Taco Bell and Pizza Hut hit their profit targets, according to Louisville-based Yum.
The initial TV spot for the new campaign begins with a KFC employee pulling in to the restaurant’s parking lot, where a delivery truck from Tyson Food Service is seen. The employee informs viewers that KFC’s Original Recipe chicken is delivered and prepared fresh throughout the week.
“How do I know all this?” she asks. “I’m the cook here. There’s one of us in every KFC.” The commercial then runs through the components of the Unbeatable Feast deal, advertising it as “dinner for only $3 per person.”
KFC has had cooks in the kitchen of every one of its 5,300-plus units hand-battering the chicken since the days of its founder, Col. Harland Sanders, according to chief food innovation officer Doug Hasselo.
“KFC has always had a cook in every kitchen serving up KFC Original Recipe chicken on the bone that is delivered and cooked fresh,” Hasselo said. “Our new ad campaign reminds America of our commitment to preparing finger-lickin’ good meals for the whole family, and now our entire menu is zero grams of trans fat per serving.”
The chain announced in April 2007 that it would change cooking oils to make its signature fried-chicken products and potato wedges trans-fat-free. It was one of the first major restaurant chains to make such a transition. As of earlier this month, KFC had completed the reformulation of its menu to be completely free of trans fats, including its macaroni and cheese, biscuits and chicken potpies.
KFC also plans this year to rollout systemwide its grilled-chicken platform, which has been in development for more than four years, and the chain’s first value menu, featuring nine items priced between 99 cents and $1.99.
Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].