KFC's Contest for a 'Reality Commercial'
Tue Sep 2, 4:53 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fast-food chain KFC on Tuesday asked customers to dish up homemade "reality commercials" for a contest to spice up the advertising campaign for its fried chicken.
KFC, a unit of Yum Brands (NYSE:YUM - news), has asked customers to create, direct and submit 30-second commercial spots for its "Bigger, Better Popcorn Chicken" product. The winning spot will receive a cash prize and will be aired once on prime-time television in early October, the company said on Tuesday.
"It's a great way to engage our target audience because reality TV is so hot," said KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer. "We want a home-video commercial."
KFC's publicity campaign comes as the company overhauls its advertising strategy to boost sales.
The company will be receiving new pitches from incumbent ad agency BBDO of the Omnicom Group (NYSE:OMC - news) and Interpublic Group's (NYSE:IPG - news) Foote, Cone and Belding in mid-September for an account estimated at $200 million, according to published reports.
In the midst of its review, KFC's chief marketing officer John Gilbert left the company last month. The restaurant chain is currently working with an executive from parent Yum Brands to shore up its marketing team.
"We've borrowed Scott Bergren (as chief marketing officer)...for KFC and he will be with us until we can turn things around," Warschauer said. "We have many things in the pipeline...we are aggressively working to give customers what they want."
She said that the "reality commercial" idea emerged from KFC's public relations team as it planned a new launch for the Popcorn Chicken food line.
The company released this week two new commercials for the product, showing consumers making sport out of eating the bite-sized chicken.
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