Why Did KFC Remove Its ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ Tagline?: You may have noticed that KFC whipped up headlines by censoring Colonel Sanders’ 64-year-old ‘finger-lickin’ good’ slogan in its latest advertisements. Back in March, all 900 of KFC’s UK restaurants were shut overnight. Globally, it was much the same story. Rubbing salt into the wounds, the pandemic hit just as KFC was running a major new ad campaign depicting diners licking their fingers-sparking howls of protest that it was inappropriate at the height of the Coronavirus crisis. Finger lickin’ was out, hand-washing was in.
The business and its small franchisees took months to safely reopen and realign drive-thrus and delivery. As the UK campaign rolled out across the globe, Kate Wall, head of advertising at KFC UK and Hermeti Balarin, executive creative director at Mother, explain why the chicken chain has put all of its eggs in one basket. KFC canned months of work almost overnight, dropping a TV ad and billboards, but not before 163 complaints were lodged with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
Why Did KFC Remove Its ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ Tagline?
“It doesn’t feel like the right time to be airing this campaign, so we’ve decided to pause it for now – but we’re really proud of it and look forward to bringing it back at a later date,” teased a spokesperson. Five months later and it is back. Sort of. ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good*’ (note the asterisk) spans TVC, print, OOH, and social with a bigger than usual first-week blast. It shows the slogan, but blurred, and ends with the message: “That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now.”