KFC will be the first brand integrated into 'Crank Yankers'

KFC and its iconic bucket are prominently featured in a new episode of “Crank Yankers,” marking the first brand integration on the long-running Comedy Central show. The roughly four-minute clip offers KFC another somewhat unique way to reach TV viewers who might skip commercials. The “Crank Yankers” appearance follows KFC’s “A Recipe for Seduction” mock romantic thriller longform commercial on Lifetime that ran in December. KFC has also extended its brand reach through social media, including on TikTok, where Lili Hayes boisterously promoted the chain’s chicken sandwich. “Giving creators the freedom to create content that is both uniquely KFC and authentic to their audience is a practice we've implemented across many of our marketing efforts in the last year,” KFC offered in a statement. The “Crank Yankers” scene features Elmer Higgins, a puppet character voiced by Jimmy Kimmel, calling KFC after getting a hat–spoiler alert: it’s a KFC bucket—stuck on his head. Kimmel, a true method actor, it seems, put a cardboard box over his head while recording the skit, mimicking the feeling of having one’s head stuck inside a KFC bucket. The “Crank Yankers” team, led by Executive Producer Jonathan Kimmel (Jimmy’s brother), offered KFC a few broad concepts to choose between for the integration. KFC’s agency Wieden & Kennedy Portland worked with the chain on the effort. “Since the show consists of genuine prank calls and nothing is scripted, KFC had to give up a significant amount of creative control in order to make this work—only signing off on the concept ahead of time,” Michelle Zoni, senior VP, ViacomCBS Velocity, said in a statement. The Yum Brands chicken chain was the right fit as the first brand partner for the show “given KFC's knack for innovative marketing tactics and for exploring new creative boundaries,” Zoni said. The scene depicts KFC in the pretend Yankerville world, with the chain’s updated decor and some definitely only-on-TV details, including a Colonel Sanders poster that can grab food. “I’m bumping into everything, and my head smells like chicken,” Kimmel, as Higgins, says at one point during the “Buckethead” segment set to air on Comedy Central on June 30. Kimmel improvised his dialogue, speaking with an actual KFC restaurant staffer who remained positive and calm throughout the call, even when the character suggested he might drive over to KFC for some assistance. Product placement is far from a new concept, but branded integrations go well beyond merely showing products. KFC is impossible to ignore during the “Crank Yankers” segment. Other recent brand integrations include characters on ABC’s “A Million Little Things” and the Disney+ series “The Might Ducks: Game Changers” discussing their Target runs, and Chipotle’s ingredients being used in a challenge on “Top Chef” on Bravo. Pepsi, meanwhile, promoted its Pepsi Mango flavor during “Match Me If You Can” commercial-break takeovers airing during the MTV show "The Challenge: Double Agents."

KFC will be the first brand integrated into 'Crank Yankers'

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