KFC Canada’s new ‘Twosday’ deal has the Colonel hopping mad

The campaign, from the agency Courage, drew inspiration from the sometimes cantankerous real-life Harland Sanders

Published On
Apr 05, 2023
An actor playing Colonel Sanders looking angry in the new KFC Canada ad

Editor's Pick

Harland Sanders is typically portrayed as a jolly fellow in most KFC advertising, but the truth is the Colonel had a temper—described, in fact, as a “terrible wrath” in a 1970 New Yorker profile. He was also “famous among KFC people for the force and variety of his swearing,” that same piece reported.

The new KFC Canada spot, then, seems true to the man—as he gets increasingly agitated, eventually letting an F-bomb fly, upon hearing about the chain’s new Twosdays deal, which offers two pieces of Original Recipe Dark Meat chicken or Tenders for $2.99 every Tuesday.

This is great for customers, but goddmammit, the Colonel feels it’s underpriced.

 

The agency went down the rabbit hole in researching the Colonel, who generally doesn’t appear as often in the Canadian advertising as he does in the U.S.

“Colonel Sanders was incredibly passionate about his food and the customers,” said Joel Holtby, co-founder and co-chief creative officer at Courage. “When we started to dig more into who he was, we found a wonderful creative lens to bring this offer to life.”

“The campaign naturally lent itself to using the founder and chef himself, the Colonel,” added copywriter Matt Miller. “It was an incredible opportunity to represent Harland Sanders in the way he used to carry himself in the real world. Never afraid to voice his opinions on KFC's business decisions, yet always passionate about his Original Recipe.”

Along with the spot above, Sanders will oppose the deal in various other media, including print, OOH and social. The three spots below will run in social channels.

 
 
 

“We wanted to give KFC fans something to truly celebrate—an unbeatable deal on a day of the week that has become synonymous with our brand,” said Katherine Bond-Debicki, chief marketing officer at KFC Canada. “You can understand where the Colonel is coming from—as the original Kentucky Fried Chicken chef, he knows more than anyone the craft and quality that go into every Finger Lickin’ Good bite. But we’re committed to giving Canadians rituals they can look forward to at a value that can’t be beat.”

Newspaper ad that reads "KFC, how dare you?" and criticizes the Twosday deal

Credits

Date
Apr 05, 2023
Client :
KFC Canada
Agency :
Courage
Partner & President :
Niki Sahni
Founder & CCO :
Dhaval Bhatt
Founder & CCO :
Joel Holtby
Partner & CSO :
Tom Kenny
Writer :
Matt Miller
Art Director :
Tommy Yong
Account Director :
Amna Khalid
Creative Director :
Elma Karabegovic
Executive Producer :
Clair Galea
Senior Strategist :
Lyndsey Westfall
Producer :
Sarah Moen
Producer :
Katie Fowler
French Producer :
Valerie Lapointe
French Writer :
Jack Latulippe
Production :
Suneeva
Director :
Zach Math
Executive Producer :
Geoff Cornish
Line Producer :
Jeff Pangman
Cinematographer :
Christophe Collette
Production Designer :
Francois Jordan
Casting Director :
Steven Mann
Casting Director :
Denise Charest
SFX Make Up :
Louise Mackintosh
Wardrobe Design :
Georgia Groom
Social Campaign Director :
Devon Ferguson
Social Campaign Producer :
Iseult McNamara
Offline :
Rooster
Executive Producer :
Melissa Kahn
Editor :
Marc Langley
Assistant Editor :
Sonny Atkins
French Editor :
Mariam Fahmy
Social Editor :
Jordan Giles
Transfer & Online :
Alter Ego
Executive Producer :
Hilda Pereira
Producer :
Andrew Tavares
Senior Colorist :
Eric Whipp
Colorist :
James Graham
Senior VFX Artist :
Joel Osis
VFX Assistant :
Saba Zahir
Color Assistant :
Samantha Omand
Audio :
Vapor Music
Executive Producer :
Lindsey Bates
Creative Director :
Ted Rosnick
Original Music :
Ethan Mentzer
Sound Design :
Levi Considine
Sound Design :
Kevin Chamberlain
Engineer :
Ryan Chalmers
Photography :
Undivided
Executive Producer :
Scott Houghton
Photographer/Retoucher :
Nikki Ormerod

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Project Type