From George Costanza to Colonel Sanders: Jason Alexander is KFC's newest 'founder'

Jason Alexander is the newest celebrity to hawk KFC. The "Seinfeld" star is promoting $20 Fill Up meals in sitcom-style "What's for Dinner?" ads breaking Monday. The campaign featuring Alexander, best known for playing George Costanza on "Seinfeld," includes a one-minute commercial that's like the opening credits of a 1980s sitcom. In the spot, released Monday, parental roles and those of others in the cast, like the ever-present nosy neighbor, can apparently be filled by the colonel. There's also a somewhat creepy couch that we'll let you see for yourself. Another spot depicts him presenting an unusually wide tray of KFC's latest offerings--with unusually long arms to match. "As the son of two working parents, there were plenty of dinnertimes when a bucket of chicken and all the fixins saved the day," Alexander said in a statement. "It's been fun to combine my personal love for KFC with my sitcom experience into a new take on the role of Colonel Sanders." (Sorry, "Seinfeld" fans: Alexander doesn't grab any discarded chicken from the trash can in the spots released Monday.) This isn't Alexander's first time in food-related ads. He's promoted Jenny Craig and Rold Gold pretzels and was even in a Miller Lite commercial with Yogi Berra in 1987, before he was on "Seinfeld." Last year, Alexander and his son had a series called "Dinner with Dad" on Freeform. Alexander is the latest in a seemingly never-ending list of celebrities appearing in the KFC campaign from Wieden & Kennedy Portland. Reba McEntire became the first female colonel at the beginning of the year, and then George Hamilton returned in April as the Extra Crispy Colonel. More recently, the Yum Brands chain's commercials have focused on various value meals. There's a little bit of product news tied to this campaign. The $20 Fill Up now has four versions: new boneless breast filets, as well as Original Recipe chicken, Extra Crispy chicken and Extra Crispy tenders, each with sides and biscuits. KFC's second-quarter U.S. same-store sales rose 1 percent, an improvement from flat same-store sales in the first quarter, according to results Yum released earlier this month.

From George Costanza to Colonel Sanders: Jason Alexander is KFC's newest 'founder'

Featured Stories