• USA Today, Thursday, September 9, 2010 9:55 AM

As a green copy editor, I recall writing a headline for the obituary we ran when Colonel Harland Sanders died in 1980, something to do with "hasn't a leg (or a wing) to stand on," which was swiftly rejected by the copy chief. What can I say. In any case, that was 30 years ago and the Colonel was 90 when he died so he'd be 120 years old today.

Which brings us to Bruce Horovitz' story about KFC, the company founded by Sanders, and its effort to revive the prestige of the good Colonel. "More than six in 10 Americans ages 18 to 25 -- the chain's key demo -- couldn't identify him in the KFC logo, according to a survey by the chain. Worse, five in 10 believe he's a made-up icon and three in 10 haven't a clue who he was."

Today, the chain begins an online public relations blitz to acquaint the younger generation with the goateed, white-suited gentleman. KFC will use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, its website and other digital outreach to introduce Sanders and prod youngsters to create and upload a piece of art that could become a painting to hang (temporarily) next to the famous Norman Rockwell painting of Sanders at the company's headquarters in Louisville, Ky.

Read the whole story at USA Today »