KFC says goodbye to its old fries...plus 4 more funeral inspired campaigns.
A snapshot look at a trending campaign with a curated pick of past campaigns that use a similar creative approach in some way.
KFC Canada’s Old Fries were routinely panned by Canadians and ranked bottom in many taste tests. To rectify this, KFC Canada has introduced a new bolder fries recipe to win back the love of its passionate customers. To mark the end of its Soggy Fry Era. KFC launched a satirical marketing campaign with an online funeral for the old fries live-streamed on KFCFryFuneral.com.
The funeral even came with a eulogy that didn't hold back in its disdain for the old fries. Canadians even had the chance to pay their final disrespects behind a hearse that made its way through the streets of Toronto.
Plus, here are four more campaigns that leveraged the idea of funerals.
The Keg | Carlton & United Breweries | Clemenger BBDO | 2023
Celebrate the passing of an Aussie beer keg in the same fashion you would a British passing monarch.
Wilmore Funeral Home | starMed Healthcare | BooneOakley | 2021
Show the deadly consequences of what will happen to you if you ignore Govt vaccination advice.
Death Of Mr. Peanut | Planters | Vayner Media | 2020
Challenge snack-loving Americans to imagine a world without Mr Peanut. When 104-year-old Mr. Peanut, the face of the well-known nut brand Planters, lost his footing in the snack market, the brand needed to do something drastic to make Americans fall in love with him again. With the Super Bowl – the biggest snacking day in America - approaching, Planters needed to act fast. Opting for the shock tactic, Planters killed Mr. Peanut, prompting Americans and other brands to take to social media to pay their respects. His death was covered by every major news outlet, publication, and late-night tv show. The culmination of the campaign came during the Super Bowl when viewers were invited to Mr. Peanut’s funeral. But something miraculous happened … Baby Peanut was born. Twitter went into meltdown and Americans went nuts, causing Planters sales to shoot up by 963%!
Free Killer Tan | Mollie's Fund | Area 23 | 2016
Turn tanning sessions into funerals to highlight the risks of using tanning beds. Mollie’s Fund, a non-profit charity, wanted fans of sunbeds to understand the risks of getting skin cancer. It did this by seducing unsuspecting New Yorkers with a free sunbed session [the Trojan horse]. Those who accepted were taken to a fake salon cum mortuary with ‘their coffin’ front and centre! The risks were explained to them and their [planned for] shocked reactions were filmed. The impact of the campaign was far greater than conventional stats-based campaigns tried before.
