Mindful Marketing
  • Home
  • About
    • Mission
    • Mindful Meter & Matrix
    • Leadership
  • Mindful Matters Blog
  • Engage Your Mind
    • Mindful Ads? Vote Your Mind!
  • Expand Your Mind
  • Contact

Was Pulling "Finger Lickin’ Good" Just Publicity Grabin’?

10/4/2020

16 Comments

 
Picture

by David Hagenbuch - professor of Marketing at Messiah University -
​author of 
Honorable Influence - founder of Mindful Marketing

It’s comforting when a company puts society’s needs ahead of its own interests.  One of the world’s leading purveyors of comfort food appeared to be following that recipe when it decided to drop its iconic tagline for health and safety reasons.  So, why does it feel like Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has served up a bucket of artificial altruism?
 
Firms are fortunate if people remember their slogans for a few minutes, let alone days, weeks, or months.  To create a theme that endures for decades is a creative coup that only the best marketing minds can claim, e.g., Just Do It (Nike), You’re in Good Hands (Allstate), The Real Thing (Coca-Cola).
 
KFC first served its iconic Finger Lickin’ Good tagline more than a half century ago.  A restaurant manager reportedly cooked up the storied slogan in 1956, “off the cuff.”
 
Fast forward to August 2020, when many media began broadcasting the big news:  In a show of public support, KFC decided to suspend its Finger Lickin’ Good slogan.  Catherine Tan-Gillespie, KFC’s global chief marketing officer, explained the move saying that the slogan “doesn't feel quite right” or “fit in the current environment” in which licking one’s fingers violates best practices for avoiding the virus.
 
As a marketing professor who enjoys slogans and pays special attention to their use, I was surprised by the story for two reasons:
  1. I thought KFC had already stopped using its one-time staple slogan.
  2. I don’t recall any tagline ever grabbing so much publicity, especially for being taken off the menu.
 
In short, I was suspicious:  Was the fast food giant’s concern for public safety genuine, or was the firm actually feeding consumers a line?
 
Because of other priorities, KFC's decision dropped off my radar, until a student in one of my marketing classes restored it:  He shared an article he’d read about the suspended slogan and offered his assessment of KCF’s strategy, calling it “Mindful Marketing.”
 

Picture

When I questioned the motives behind the company’s move, much of the class clapped back against their professor, in support of their fellow student (they always do that).  However, their reaction made me even more suspicious of hoodwinking, which doubled my determination to understand what was really happening.
 
It had been a while since I paid much attention to KFC.  About five years ago I wrote a piece about the firm that wasn’t exactly flattering:  I described how KFC’s own ads were lampooning, of all people, its deceased founder, the hard-working visionary Harland Sanders.  I argued that he and any departed person deserved better.
 
So, I set out to investigate my hypothesis that KFC’s theme recall was less about protecting people’s health and more about grabbing headlines.  The first step was to see if the company had been using its classic Finger Lickin’ Good theme before the August announcement.  If you remember above, I said that I didn’t think it had been.  Well, I was right . . . and wrong.
 
I found one website that catalogs companies’ slogans and another that curates their commercials, which I spent too much time watching.  In the process, though, I discovered that for a few decades KFC had used in its ads a wide variety of other taglines with no mention of the iconic one, for instance:
  • There’s Fast Food, Then There’s KFC
  • Nobody Does Chicken Like KFC
  • Chicken Capital USA
  • KFC What’s Cookin’
  • Life Tastes Better with KFC
  • Taste the Unfried Side of KFC
  • So Good
  • Taste the Fiery Grilled Wing Side of KFC
  • Today Tastes So Good

​However, I was wrong in that KFC did recently reprise Finger Lickin’ Good in its ad campaigns featuring Colonel Sanders fakes.  Over a period of about five years, the company has employed an incredible 18 different ‘colonels,’ ranging from Rob Lowe to Reba McEntire.  Most of these commercials have used Finger Lickin’ Good.
 
Picture

Watching KFC ads, which were often entertaining, was the easy part.  The hard part is supporting that the company’s motives in pulling the classic slogan are not as pious as they appear.  Here are four reasons I still maintain that KFC’s tagline tactic is more than a little suspicious:
 

1. Poor Health History:  This is the same company that three decades ago, amid growing public concern about the health effects of fried foods, changed its name to an acronym rather than significantly altering its product line.  It’s also the same firm that promotes $5 Fill Up Meals, which contain a whopping 2,160 calories, 104 grams of fat, and 202 carbs.

People certainly need to be careful about coronavirus, but if KFC is truly concerned about consumers’ health, why does it appear apathetic to heart disease—the leading cause of death in America?
 

2. Rap Sheet of Irreverence:  While KFC hasn’t been known for championing healthiness, it does have a reputation for insolence.  It’s commercials featuring the Colonel Sanders imposters, are prime examples of the offhand humor, which makes fun of people in all sorts of social situations while also roasting its founder.  So, if KFC doesn’t take itself and its customers seriously, why should we believe that jettisoning Finger Lickin’ Good isn’t also a joke?
 
3. Expert Agreement:  CNN has described KFC’s tagline takedown as a “clever” “marketing campaign.”  Although, I take issue with the news conglomerate’s implication that all marketing is manipulative, it’s worth noting that the media giant sees KFC doing the same thing I do: making a weakly-veiled attempt to gain brand exposure.

4. Reverse Psychology Strategy:  The most compelling evidence that KFC’s slogan stoppage is a stunt can be ‘somewhat seen’ in its own advertising.  Rather than removing the tagline entirely from billboards and chicken buckets, the company simply blurred two of the four words to read:  It’s  - - - - - -    - - - - - - -  good!  In addition, a video showing images of the same items ends with the message, “That thing we always say.  Ignore it.  For now.”
 
In psychological terms, KFC is using ironic process theory, which holds that “deliberate attempts to suppress certain thoughts actually make them more likely to surface.”  The classic example is telling someone not to think about a pink elephant.
 
KFC’s ‘don’t think about it’ strategy reminds me of Doritos 2019 “No Logo” commercial in which the company intentionally kept its brand name and mark out of a 60-second TV spot in order to play on consumers’ curiosity and create a buzz.  Given how often the commercial was shared, the strategy seemed to work.
 
Many people, however, have seen through KFC’s charade.  In the UK, the Advertising and Standards Authority (ASA) has received 163 complaints about the ads.  These critics and others can tell when an organization is truly trying to be socially responsible and when it’s just giving Finger Lickin’ lip service.
 
It’s nice when large companies wield their significant influence to nudge people in a positive direction, especially one that keeps them from harm during a pandemic.  However, a firm pretending to encourage consumer well-being, when it's really just trying to grab publicity should make all of us at least a little sick to our stomachs.
 
In a best case scenario, the public just laughs off KFC’s ploy.  In a worst case, the company’s irreverence encourages people to take virus-prevention measures less seriously, placing themselves and others at greater risk of COVID-19.
 
Kudos, KFC, for removing the inappropriate tagline.  However, this food marketing critic still gives you a poor review for cooking up a big serving of “Single-Minded Marketing.”
​
Picture
Subscribe to Mindful Matters blog.
Learn more about the Mindful Matrix.
Check out Mindful Marketing Ads
 and Vote your Mind!
16 Comments
Marwan Bahu
10/23/2020 07:06:59 pm

I found KFC's marketing strategy to be single-minded, as the blog also concludes. I feel KFC is not taking the health of their customers seriously; however, if KFC's customer base doesn't care about being healthy, why should KFC care about how healthy their food is when talking about COVID-19? KFC's customers know that what they're eating is unhealthy, they have a choice to eat KFC over other food services. I am now coming to the conclusion that KFC's marketing strategy was actually mindful as it creates stockholder value and is acknowledging the pandemic (which many companies still have yet to do).

Reply
Audrey Johnson
10/26/2020 01:22:04 am

Wow, this is all new information to me! But reading over the article has shown me that it is pretty evident that KFC's strategy is very single minded. Though they are presenting the idea that they are trying to be more COVID conscious, it is seemingly to gain more attention than create more safe measures. The public will most likely see through this as well and it has the potential to create a scandal. COVID or not, KFC is not very healthy or safe for people, so it truly doesn't seem like they have the public's best interest at heart.

Reply
Jacob Derksen
10/26/2020 02:38:50 pm

This is an interesting take of KFC's tagline change. At first, I thought the blurred words would be some sort of hint towards something inappropriate. After reading this however, I realized it could also be an attempt to improve social health standards. It is also new to me how people spend time and resources to analyze a company's tagline and the history behind it. I find it funny that the author points out that it is ironic for KFC to promote health while their food supports an arguably unhealthy lifestyle. This makes me stop to wonder whether KFC is truly supporting public safety or if it is some marketing scheme to help themselves.

Reply
Andrew Garcia
10/26/2020 05:56:29 pm

I found this article really interesting as the author points out the irony in KFC's ploy to promote public health. I agree with the author in that this idea to suspend their former campaign is a single-minded act. For one, the "Finger Licking Good" campaign was so popular that it makes no sense to take that slogan off of their advertising. Secondly, I do agree with the author and how he stated that KFC was not really looking to promote public safety but rather trying to promote their brand. I do not think that this was a beneficial move for KFC.

Reply
Shelby Rogers
10/26/2020 10:58:42 pm

This is a very interesting blog post! I find KFC's decision to remove "finger lickin' good" from their brand to be very disingenuous. It seems they are trying to appeal to the current cultural climate, but don't actually have concern for their consumers' health. After reading this blog, I feel I actually have a more negative disposition toward KFC.

Reply
Samantha Penor
10/26/2020 11:14:46 pm


I found the information in this article to be very new to me as well as very interesting. I had no idea marketing went that deep into psychology and how something on the surface holds back ulterior motives that can be seen on the matrix as single-minded. I do not take KFC and its company seriously especially as someone who has seen their previous advertisements. I also have a friend who was a former employee at a KFC chain restaurant and was horrified by the lack of cleaning measurements at the facility. I find it ironic that KFC is concerned about Covid-19 and upholding social responsibility when their own kitchens and food handling measures do not seem to care about other common bacterias and viruses. This was a great post with really good insight on how companies can use marketing to psychologically manipulate consumers under the guise of upholding social responsibility.

Reply
Isabella Salinas
10/27/2020 01:42:51 am

This post was very eye opening for me. At first, I thought it was so interesting that a fast food company actually cared enough to promote safer practices during the pandemic. As I continued to read, I was shocked by the psychology that goes into advertising, especially KFC's. It was disheartening to realize that the goal of the company was actually just to trick the public mind and grab more headlines for "good" publicity. When reading about how reverse psychology is used, it reminded me of how my softball coaches would always tell me to not focus on what not to do, but what I should or am going to do. If I keep telling myself "don't do...," I end up usually doing it because it's in my head constantly. That same idea is being used by KFC from using ironic process theory.

Reply
Lindsay Gerle
10/27/2020 01:45:07 pm

It's hard to find a company who is solely marketing for the benefit of the consumer. It's good to be aware of companies like KFC who are marketing with the subconscious intention to manipulate their customer's thinking into believing that their intentions are to better the community in stopping the spread of COVID. I appreciate the explanation about how KFC wants to talk about stopping the virus and being "healthier", but really nothing else about their company food is healthy. The evidence given that reveals KFC's attempts to try and make themselves look better through ironic strategies makes me wonder about other companies who are using this same tactic as a way to subtly trick their customers. This post was helpful because it reminds the readers, as well as consumers, to be aware of this sort of tactic from other companies besides KFC.

Reply
Jack Farrah
10/28/2020 04:14:57 pm

I found this analysis on KFC's marketing strategy pretty interesting. While this does put the nation's eyes on their company, I'm not sure if it necessarily diminishes the benefits of their new slogan. Regardless of the stockholder value, they are still reminding people to keep their hands away from their mouth. Is this all that KFC could do? No. There's a lot more that companies could be doing to help with the coronavirus. However, KFC is still doing something. A lot of companies still haven't done anything.

Reply
Noa Wilding
10/28/2020 05:55:20 pm

I had not thought about KFC's motives being insidious until this article. While I agree with the author that the company was aware of the buzz it would gain from changing their solutions in the name of unanimous public health. It is a way to effect a larger audience because no one escapes the all too looming threat of the Virus. KFC's abuse of genuine concern for its customers' well being may be concerning but if their campaign sold more of their product I am not sure they learned their lesson. While other companies are not necessarily removing their slogans to market during the pandemic, it seems I can't turn on the television without seeing a "we're in this together" message that tries to get me to buy a new car or try a new pop drink. It seems there is a trend that tries to falsely manufacture "misery loves company" among huge companies and their target audience.

Reply
Jammyla
10/28/2020 07:55:04 pm

I think this article shows how important it is to analyze how a company has worked in the past so you can interpret what they are doing now. They never cared about health, so why do they suddenly care now? KFC while being really clever with their marketing weren't able to fool everyone and the effect they could've had could be bad. If people think that a big brand doesn't care about the virus, they won't either. I think its disappointing to learn that some companies use events that are affecting the whole world just so they can have a little more publicity. They are abusing the situation and the concerns that people have for their health.

Reply
John Kilgallon
10/29/2020 11:48:54 pm

I’m going to be honest. I am definitely a way bigger fan of Popeyes than KFC. The food, the service, the experience is all better than at KFC. So, reading through this post was very easy to read through and almost gave me a feeling that I can keep my chin up as a Popeyes supporter. Diving into the blog was very interesting and gave me some new views of the company. I do appreciate the message they are trying to make, but was it for the right reasons? Nevertheless, it is good that they were able to make a statement and to encourage people who do love KFC to be safe. I really enjoyed looking into the psychology that goes into making a decision like this along with the views of others on your decision. Ultimately, it is sad that a company who has not always had the best reputation has to stoop this low in order to achieve its desired publicity. I really enjoyed seeing how KFC’s decisions were evaluated and put in front of everyone in this blog.

Reply
Antonio Rosales Varona
10/29/2020 11:55:48 pm

I never thought about what kind of marketing strategies KFC was using so reading this blog was very interesting. I found out that their strategy is very singled minded. It is riveting to see how they were thoughtful about how their half century old slogan didn’t match they current environment, so they decided to change it. When I think about what they did with the ad, I want to believe that they did it having in mind social responsibility. Also, I do think they used it so people will try to figure out what the blurred lines meant, using ironic process theory as Hagenbuch mentioned.

Reply
Brandon Bagley
10/30/2020 02:20:36 am

I didn't even know that KFC had changed their slogan recently, but I do find it interesting that your take is that it was to cause commotion. This is more common in today's marketing industry due to repetitive tactics that no longer work. For example, the ad where K-Mart said "I shipped my pants" caused crazy commotion and ended up being taken down for what I'm assuming were many complaints from parents. However, K-Mart was all the talk then. While I think their lack of empathy and sincerity could be true, I think they're valuing their customer outreach and expansion more-so in their business model.

Reply
Cece McCrory
11/21/2020 05:10:27 pm

I thought that this post was super interesting. Me, like many other people upon first hearing that KFC removed the "finger licking" out of their slogan due to Covid-19 was smart on their part, and also a good idea to help promote the general health of their customers in this weird time. But, after reading this article, it seems they did it for just the opposite. Obviously when companies change something in the way they market they are always trying to bring in more customers and drive up sales, but using a world wide pandemic as something to have people think and buy greasy chicken is not the way to go. It is mind blowing to see the way they spun this to make it more about their company rather than about keeping their customers safe and healthy from the virus. I really liked all the different facts brought up about what KFC had done in the past to help drive in your point that this was very single- minded marketing technique. This blog was really interesting and I liked seeing all the points and hearing your full view point on this, rather than that short version you gave in class.

Reply
Mikayla A Broome
11/23/2020 08:24:41 pm

I think this is such a single minded gimmick. I am not sure why the slogan "Finger-lickin Good" poses a threat to safety in the first place, presuming that the slogan is implying that you would be licking your own fingers. This point seems so obvious to me that I can not believe that KFC did not think that far. It seems to me that they made this announcement solely to bring attention to the brand.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Subscribe to receive this blog by email

    Editor

    David Hagenbuch,
    founder of
    Mindful Marketing    & author of Honorable Influence

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Categories

    All
    + Decency
    + Fairness
    Honesty7883a9b09e
    * Mindful
    Mindless33703c5669
    > Place
    Price5d70aa2269
    > Product
    Promotion37eb4ea826
    Respect170bbeec51
    Simple Minded
    Single Minded2c3169a786
    + Stewardship

    RSS Feed

    Share this blog:

    Subscribe to
    Mindful Matters
    blog by email


    Illuminating
    ​Marketing Ethics ​

    Encouraging
    ​Ethical Marketing  ​


    Copyright 2020
    David Hagenbuch

Proudly powered by Weebly