LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- As supermarket delis experiment with the whole meal concept, Kentucky Fried Chicken here has launched a national ad campaign that touts its "great-tasting, family meals."
The campaign includes a $34 million network television ad series that targets working mothers between the ages of 24 and 54 "who maintain a strong desire for the family experience of sharing a good meal." The advertising is designed to communicate that KFC is an easy way to bring home complete meals that the family will enjoy, a KFC spokeswoman said.
"We're actually re-emphasizing what we began saying more than 20 years ago, and that's that we can provide great-tasting, wholesome meals," she said, stressing that the whole meal concept is not new to KFC. One spot from the new campaign refers to a phrase coined on KFC billboard advertising in the late 1950s, which touted KFC restaurants as the source for "Sunday Dinner, Seven Days a Week." But mid-1990s family members are a lot more time-constrained, according to a national survey conducted for KFC by its ad agency just prior to the ad launch. In fact, the survey revealed that the American family is more pushed for time than ever, has little time to prepare home-cooked meals, and makes take-out meal decisisions just one to two hours before purchase. Another recent survey showed that more than 60% of all family meal occasions are take-out.
"It's no secret we're reclaiming our rightful position as the American family's source for convenient, prepared, complete meals for at-home consumption with these ads," said Darlene Pfeiffer, a KFC franchisee.
One television ad called "Race to the Table" features a mother planning a meal in her car during the commute from work. Another part of that same ad shows a family gathered around a table, reaching for the chicken and side dishes. That part of the ad is shown in black and white "to emphasize the traditional, old-time quality" of the family gathered around a dining table. That ad set the tone for the series, a KFC spokesman said.
Another ad, which zeroes in on today's harried lifestyles, shows footage of a father and son delivering a KFC meal to Mom, who is working late at the office. The audio says "days are long," followed by a shot of a clock with audio that says, "time is short."
