KFC's return to 'It's Finger Lickin' Good'

14 Sep 2016

In 2012, KFC changed their tagline to 'So Good', but South African consumers, stubborn as they are, never stopped licking their fingers. I was recently invited to a special sensory experience at the Giggling Gourmet to celebrate KFC returning to its roots by bringing back 'It's Finger Lickin' Good'. Now, in my mind, fast food and sensory food experience were not related - my curiosity was piqued.

KFC Head cook, Sam Mdluli (who has been with KFC for 25 years) and J’Something

My sentiments about fast food were shared by the MC for the night, J-Something, who also had his doubts when KFC approached him to champion the brand. He was quick to assure us that KFC is full of surprises that will sway our opinion for the positive by sharing some KFC secrets:

1. Everything that KFC sells is made fresh every day.

2. They don’t just have cooks, each KFC has a chef.

3. They source their produce from the same suppliers that stock the racks of our most trusted food retailers such as Woolworths and Pick n Pay.

4. Each chef goes through vigorous training in the KFC formula – which is more than just those 11 herbs and spices, but an entire routine followed down to the T. Ever wonder how KFC tastes the same no matter where you eat it…?

Now this is a KFC I can get on board with – and feel less guilty about eating.

It’s the original recipe, that true KFC taste, that has kept lovers of the crispy chicken loyal to 'It’s Finger Lickin’ Good', and what eventually prompted the KFC brand to return to their famous tag line. Says KFC chief marketing officer Africa, Mike Middleton, “KFC is a brand that has been in SA for over 40 years and our Original Recipe chicken is still cooked the same way the Colonel first prepared it all those years ago. The Original Recipe taste really differentiates KFC and keeps our customers coming back for more. To be honest, it is so entrenched we feel that most people didn’t even notice that it was gone.”

It's more than a taste, it's a feeling

But more than that, it’s also the “KFC feeling” that comes from the comfort of eating it, from childhood memories of KFC outings when mom doesn’t feel like cooking, a treat while on holiday to the perfect hangover cure – whatever your KFC memory may be. Let Thabisa Mkhwanazi, KFC marketing director explain:

Celebrating its return to the original tagline, KFC collaborated with Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg on a television advert that aimed to conjure the Finger Lickin’ Good taste and feeling. Directed by Keith Rose of Velocity films, the advert hit screens in August. In addition to the ad, KFC SA also launched the new KFC Burrito.

Says Middleton, “This advert really celebrates the moments in life that unite us all. We’re at our happiest when life’s simple moments give us the freedom to be ourselves - simple moments with the uninhibited Finger Lickin’ Good taste of KFC.”