Dignity for the Deceased

Dignity for the Deceased?

9/19/2015

by David Hagenbuch, Founder of Mindful Marketing

How would you like to be remembered after your life on earth is finished? Most people probably would like accurate accounts of their deeds and demeanor, and they’d hope that those recollections would be favorable. Few people would want to be mocked in their mortality.

Unfortunately one dearly departed person has recently become the object of derision: Harland David Sanders. If you don’t recognize the name, it’s because most of us know him as Colonel Sanders, the iconic founder of and spokesperson for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC).

Sanders has been roasted in a series of television commercials that have depicted him in several shades of negative light. In the first set of ads actor Darrell Hammond, of Saturday Night Life (SNL) fame, portrayed Sanders as a giddy simpleton who made silly small talk while shamelessly peddling his chicken products.

In a second series of TV ads, another SNL alum, Norm MacDonald, has replaced Hammond, pretending that he is the “real Colonel Sanders” and that Hammond was an imposter. MacDonald’s caricature of the Colonel is somewhat more dignified than Hammond’s, which isn't saying much. Although McDonald doesn’t come across as such a bumbling fool, the sense of the ads is still satirical. They make fun of Sanders more subtly, for instance, through odd props like a big figurine of himself on his own desk, a calculator that scrolls paper incessantly onto the floor, and a giant chicken bucket from which the Colonel emerges. McDonald also lampoons Sanders by reciting ridiculous lines (e.g., “after a long day of spontaneous road trips and breakdancing, well, you get hungry”) and by appearing in his long underwear in front of all.

What kind of portrayal does the Colonel deserve? To answer this question it’s helpful to understand Harland Sander’s history. Sanders was born into a poor family in Henryville, IN, in 1890. Hardworking and entrepreneurial, Sanders opened a Shell service station in 1930, at which he started to sell food, including some tasty fried chicken.

The service station evolved into a restaurant, but in 1955 a new highway bypassed the restaurant, causing the 65-year-old Sanders to close shop and take to franchising his secret-recipe chicken. By 1963, 600 restaurants were serving “Kentucky Fried Chicken.” At the age of 74 in 1964, Sanders decided he needed to dial-back his workload, so he sold the business for $2 million, but he continued to serve as the spokesperson and visual identity of the company, which grew to be worth $285 million in 1971. Sanders passed away in Louisville, Kentucky, in December 1980.

So, Sanders was a driven and successful businessman, but what kind of a person was he? He was a perfectionist who always wanted his chicken prepared right and who had little tolerance for mediocrity, which elicited his sometimes volatile temper. At the same time, he also must have harbored good people-skills in order to win-over so many franchisees and to serve as the trusted face of one of America’s most prosperous fast food brands. In fact, he is said to have had a soft side that included a heart for children. Above all and in contrast to the current commercials, Sanders was sharp and creative, clearly not a bumbling idiot.

Former Kentucky Governor John Y. Brown Jr., who opened 3,500 KFC stores in seven years after buying the secret recipe in 1964, takes issue with the caricature of the Colonel. In a phone interview with USA Today, Brown said, “I don't think you make a gimmick out of somebody . . . they are making fun of the Colonel. It is such a fascinating story, I hate to see them tarnish it.”

So, who’s ruining the reputation of Harland Sanders? Ironically it’s KFC—the company that retains the promotional rights to the Colonel and that stands to benefit the most from the preservation of his brand. A review of the KFC website, however, reveals a crazy combination of images consisting of both actual photos of Sanders and outtakes from the outrageous ads.

For instance, in one of the site’s slideshows, a stately portrait of Sanders with the quote “One of my lifetime philosophies is you get back what you give,” is followed by a picture of McDonald in his long underwear. It will be interesting to see what KFC “gets back” from lampooning its legendary founder. The new ads are unusual enough to capture attention and retain interest, but it’s doubtful whether the buzz they create will translate into any significant increase in sales, or create meaningful stakeholder value.

Meanwhile, KFC and its parent company, Yum brands, have sacrificed an important societal value by disrespecting the very man who made the franchise possible. Sanders was not perfect; yet, he should be remembered with dignity. Neither he nor other deceased persons deserve to be the objects of “Mindless Marketing” tactics.

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25 Comments

Becca

9/20/2015 10:19:03 pm

It is hard to understand why a company would want to put a bad light on their founder. The way that Saunders is represented in these advertisements makes me angry because it is so disrespectful toward him. I think the company would gain more credibility and respect if they took a different approach in their marketing of Saunders and presented him as someone worthy of claiming as their founder. They are only serving to make themselves look like worse if they portray their founder as not very smart.

David Hagenbuch link

9/22/2015 06:31:30 pm

Good observations, Becca. I agree.

Samuel

9/23/2015 05:01:43 pm

I find this a very interesting topic to discuss. With the growth of the fast casual market, it seems that the restaurant industry has been constantly shifting and adapting recently. Some fast food restaurants have remained true to their industry norm, simply trying out new products (Wendy's), or advertising more to draw more people to business. Some, like McDonalds and their McCafe, are attempting to permeate other markets from within their original markets (ie. the café marketplace with competitors such as Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, etc.). So, it seems that no matter what motives KFC has with this advertising campaign, and even despite any moral implications of it, these ads seems to accomplish the purpose they were made for. If KFC wants more people talking about them (and I cannot say for sure if they are–although it seems that way), then I think these ads are working! 100,000 people debating over a KFC ad campaign is 100,000 more people that are talking about KFC than before.

Mikaela Mummert

9/23/2015 08:36:54 pm

In seeing the KFC ads depicting Colonel Sanders, I was really taken aback how they would disrespect their founder in such a way. The ads showed him in a mocking way, looking very unintelligent and unflattering. With the foundations that Sanders built, KFC has become the successful chain that is it today. Is that how the company should repay him? He deserves much more respect than that. Unless they were going for a shock factor (which isn’t even really great here in my opinion), it’s not really professional on their part. There are so many other ways that KFC could have marketed this new product of theirs. With their family bucket they were advertising, they could have done something with traditional family values or something related to that and make their campaign a little more mindful.

Jennifer Sanchez

9/23/2015 11:34:21 pm

Reading about how this company decided to go about advertising using "self" depricating humor, if you can even call it that, makes me extremely unsettled. Even though they technically have the right to do whatever they please with Colonel Sanders image, KFC should have the decency to at least honor their fallen leader rather than mock him in order to gain a quick buck. I am not sure what they are trying to accomplish by making fun of him... do they want us to feel bad for the man and buy more chicken? I am honestly rather disgusted that there is no way to honor this entrepreneur that was Colonel Sanders without directly giving money to the company that chose to toy with his name and story in the first place. This really is a solid example of mindless marketing and even though I don’t personally enjoy KFC, I admire Sander’s spirit and I respect him even though it seems his company does not.

Cody Seibert

9/23/2015 11:39:13 pm

Much like Becca, I just don't understand what the company plans to gain from bashing their founder and spokesperson. The company would not exist without the vision and dedication of Sanders, and I believe that deserve to be recognized and respected. Sanders was a hard working man and sounds like he was always dedicated to making the best and not settling for less which a lot of people do in today's society. I think we need more business men like Sanders in the work force. Personally, I believe Sanders is turning in his grave seeing HIS company treat his name and his legacy so poorly.

Nicole K

9/24/2015 10:01:19 am

I completely despise the character they turned the beloved iconic Colonel Sanders into. It's insulting to the original Colonel Harland David Sanders himself, to be reduced to some idiotic portrayal of a goofball snickering and talking in such a bizarre dialect, that he doesn't sound anything like a Kentucky born person. Revise your standards, not the ads. Their prices are too high and their quality is extremely low. The chicken that is “extra crispy” is usually dry and very meatless. I tired looking at the options of the public and a lot of Kentuckians are extremely upset about these ads. Why would the company want to upset the people where their company first started and grew to what it was today? There is a festival in Kentucky yearly where they have men dressed as Colonel Sanders; one of them would love to portray Colonel Sanders.

Nicole K

9/24/2015 10:03:01 am

Opinions not Options.

Hannah

9/24/2015 10:50:11 am

I think the mindless marketing on KFC’s part is disappointing. I would like to beleive that with an incredible story of their founder and face of their company, they would aspire to bring a positive light to enforce their company and to increase the number of people talking about them. I think if they took the angle of increasing awareness of the inspirational story of their founder and how he aligns with the American Dream of success, they could accomplish much more than depicting him as they are now. The public likes stories of small normal people like themselves becoming entrepreneurs and “pulling themselves up by their bootstraps” as their founder did. I don’t understand the reasoning why they chose to create a scandal buzz, when they could have connected with people on a level with many about an inspirational story we all want to hear.

Tyler W.

9/24/2015 11:01:02 am

After reading this post, I am speechless. KFC should not be advertising their founder as a simpleminded fool. If you compare the advertising of KFC to McDonald's, you see that McDonald's was smart and made a mascot, Ronald, for advertising. Also, during their advertisements they would usually have kids playing with Ronald. KFC on the other hand, is making a laughing stock out of its own company because of its mindless, lets make our founder look stupid, advertising. It is a shame that KFC thought that this would be a great marketing plan.

Matt

9/24/2015 11:05:17 am

I don't like KFC's decision to allow their founder to be portrayed with such disrespect. It's hard to understand why the company wouldn't show more respect to the man who made their company possible. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it would create more value to the company if KFC paid its rightful respects to their founder rather than use his brand in a negative light to promote the business.

Blake A. Ross

9/24/2015 11:13:00 am

An important distinction to make here is the tone of the advertisements and not just the content. To still have the deceased colonel as a figure head and include well represented impersonations of him, even with a humorous tone, would be one thing. Where the line is crossed in these advertisements is the mocking tone which is employed. It is very low ethically to mock someone whom has done nothing to be deserving of the treatment, let alone someone whom has done so much for the benefiting party and whom is already deceased. The mindless tactics taken here by KFC should only reflect bad on the company; it is apparent that they do not care about societal values or honoring the man that made that brand possible at all. Controversy and media are generally helpful, however when the people that find it controversial are a large portion of the primary stakeholders (Kentuckians), it should be a signal to the company that the campaign is unsuccessful.

Logan Hunsberger

9/24/2015 05:25:27 pm

KFC has taken an interesting tactic at getting their name back out into the public by using Colonel Sanders as their 'comedic' public figure. It is definitely doing what i believe they brought him back to do, which is to gain attention in anyway possible. It is hard to hear of a company who takes the person who initially was the cornerstone of the company, and now that he has passed the best way they can think of bringing his image back is through comedic relief. I would be interested to see if their sales have gone up or down as result of these commercials. Just the fact that we are posting articles about this is already giving KFC credit for good marketing skills by getting their name out there to the public. But it can also turn people away which if they feel that KFC is disgracing Colonel Sanders then it will do just that. I do not know what kind of person Colonel Sanders was, but maybe he could've been the kind that puts the company first and doesn't care all too much of how its done. But in either case it is disrespectful to portray a man that has passed and was the main reason that KFC is standing today. I believe that if the sales are going up and they are actually reaching out to people with their commercials, i would say continue with the commercials ONLY if i knew the man well enough to know if he would care or not what we are doing.

Donnell

9/28/2015 09:45:47 am

This article was very mindless because of how disrespectful the company is towards the founder of KFC. They use there founder in ads mocking his lifestyle and making him look like a fool. If you look at any other advertisements from Mcdonalds or Wendy's they're shown as someone who smart rather than foolish or ignorant. Colonal sanders deserves to be depicted as someone more intellegant than they advertise, I think that it they focused more on the aspiring story of Colonal Sander and his success there company can become more successful rather than advertising him in long underwear

Skye Cornell

10/24/2015 06:34:27 pm

I think that KFC is not reading their customers well and downplaying the importance of nostalgia. Understanding the emotions of your customers is key when creating an appropriate marketing campaign. KFC has been around for a long time and should take advantage of this history instead of making fun of their founder. Families have eaten at KFC for years and have memories attached to the food. KFC could use old footage of Mr. Sanders to spark nostalgic emotions of customers. This tactic would be a mindful alternative to their current campaign.

David Hagenbuch link

10/24/2015 07:12:02 pm

Sky, I like your suggestion for how KFC could have better used the Colonel in its current promotion. Thanks.

Sieun Kim

10/24/2015 11:57:37 pm

The colonel doesn't deserve the reputation he was given by KFC or the SNL show. The marketing method most certainly did not uphold societal values since it defamed a deceased person. However, I am curious as to see how this marketing negatively affected the stakeholder value. Considering that stakeholders include various groups like customers, employees, shareholders, and the community, who was really affected and to what extent? I think that the shareholder value was harmed, but maybe not to the extent that we think it is harmed. It harmed the shareholder value in that the method isn’t contributing to the development of the community, however, it didn’t really affect or harm in minimizing the cost and waste of the product because of this one ad.

Samuel Jackson

10/25/2015 05:44:06 pm

KFC has has clearly struggled in the United States. A clear illustration of this is the fact that Chick-fil-A is now the top selling fast food chicken company in the US, doing this with only half the store that KFC operates. Why has this been? A combination of reasons, however, in the process of this decline KFC seems to have thrown its number one asset under the bus in an attempt to create value and relevance for its brand. If KFC had upheld the Colonel Sanders image of quality as well as his hard working attitude, they could have created better bradn value for themselves in the long run. Instead it seems that they used him as a source of some cheap jokes in order to quickly increase sales and receive publicity. A choice that will surely hurt their brand image in the long run.

David G

10/26/2015 08:24:32 pm

The value of KFC has been at a decline, both in its ability to attract new customers and uphold the quality in its product. Publicity stunts like making a gag out of the founder can quickly turn bad for the company. These sketches, while being able to attract attention to the brand, don't necessarily bring positive attention to KFC. It seems that these ads aren't geared towards adults or elders, but rather youth and college-age people. The humor and ridiculous sketches grab the attention of younger audiences who may not feel offended by the misportrayal of it's no longer living founder. Only time will tell if these adverts will bring more customers for KFC to serve.

Julie

10/26/2015 08:58:24 pm

Even though KFC did not create the negative depictions of the Colonel, when they decided to use the images on their own website, they took part in mindless marketing. Unfortunately for KFC, they have been in decline for a while. Chick-fil-A has taken America by storm and receives more revenue than KFC with only half the operating locations. I think that the two main causes of this are because Chick-fil-A is viewed as a very respectable company and also takes great care to offer quality foods. These two aspects are things that many believe KFC has lost. KFC seems to be more money centered than quality centered and they have lost respect for their founder and thus lost respect from their customer base. It is unfortunate but true and their mindless marketing techniques have not been paying off at all.

Kevin

10/26/2015 10:39:46 pm

These ads have never sat well with me. I think their intention is to create laughs and grab the attention of a younger customer base in an increasingly health-focused environment to invest in the long-run by attracting the next generation of consumers. It is certainly a shame that their is no dignity allowed in these ads and many more ads (like Carl's Jr), and unfortunately they are effective enough for the firms to have no reason to stop. Unfortunately this will probably be a continuing trend for a while.

Jonathan Chappell

10/27/2015 04:25:07 pm

Kentucky Fried Chicken has suffered greatly in the last few decades in America. They haven't done a great job in light of their competition. Chick-fil-a for one has been better that Kentucky Fried Chicken as creating a place where fried chicken can be had and they have created the image of S. Truett Cathy in a positive light for the world to see. Kentucky Fried Chicken on the other hand has allowed their leader and founder to lose the positive light around him. Thus, they have fallen and fallen hard in the previous years.

Samantha Gong

10/29/2015 02:44:27 am

At first, while reading the article, I began to feel a sense of admiration for KFC-- until I read that KFC itself was responsible for the disrespectful advertisement of its own founder. Making a joke out of someone who has no say in how he is portrayed, because he is DEAD, does not garner any respect for the joker. Resorting to crass satire to market their brand exemplifies a desperate move on KFC's part. While Colonel Sanders does not deserve the ridiculous and degrading treatment, KFC is not likely to benefit in the long run from this crude portrayal of the reason for their very being.

kjones

10/20/2016 01:29:00 pm

What the 'heck' is kfc commercial advertisers think they are accomplishing?...i got incensed watching the 2016 commercials then i went online to comment and discover they have been 'getting it wrong' since at least 2011! Gosh. I'm old enough to remember when the colonel was alive and it's irritating to see the approaches the advertisers have taken. Why are they presenting the colonel as a wholesome, friendly, hardworking, conscientious man?

Joe Brennan

1/29/2018 08:12:59 pm

Until an in class discussion of Reba McEntire playing the new role of Colonel Sanders, I was never really certain that Colonel Sanders was more that just KFC's symbol. This shows just how the company has stained the image of the real Colonel Sanders. It's hard to even believe that a brand would take their own founder and spokesperson and allow him to become a simple way to get cheap attention. A successful businessman deserves respect, especially from his own company.

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