George Hamilton Returns As KFC's 'Crispy Colonel'

After Reba McEntire and Norm McDonald played the iconic spokesperson, among others, KFC is raising awareness for its Crispy Colonel sandwich by reactivating  George Hamilton, who first portrayed the Extra Crispy Colonel in 2016.

Developed with Wieden+Kennedy, the creative features a very bronzed Hamilton aboard the The K.F.Sea yacht serving as a master of ceremonies for party-goers while enjoying the crispy sandwich.

"Since this is a sandwich often enjoyed on the go, why not put our Colonel on a decked out KFC yacht to take the extra crispy lifestyle to the next level?" asks Andrea Zahumensky, chief marketing officer, KFC U.S. " One of my goals when I started [on December 4, 2017] was to figure out how we would continue to evolve our rotating Colonel campaign to keep it fresh and interesting for our customers."

Summer is the perfect time to re-introduce this sandwich, she says. "It's all about appealing to what our customers want, and where they are. People are naturally on the move during the summer, whether traveling with family or going from one outdoor activity to the next."

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The media buy is balanced between high-impact media, like TV, with precision targeting across digital channels, says Zahumensky. "We do know the Crispy Colonel sandwich is bringing a younger consumer into KFC with 61% of buyers during test were millennials."

While the campaign currently supports the sandwiches three southern-inspired flavors — Smoky Mountain BBQ, spicy and smoky Nashville Hot, and sweet and tangy Georgia Gold honey mustard BBQ — this summer, the chain will attempt to attract viral popularity and sales by introducing a fourth, "unexpectedly delicious flavor" for a very limited time, says Zahumensky.

1 comment about "George Hamilton Returns As KFC's 'Crispy Colonel'".
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  1. Patricia Friedlander from Word-Up!, April 25, 2018 at 12:03 a.m.

    George Hamilton? wha??? 1970s B-list? Funny-ish for those of us old enough to know who GH is. Saw the commercial today and was glad I read about it--otherwise, it would have left me wondering who the old guy was. 

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