Is the new Colonel Sanders ready for prime time? KFC is rolling out “Saturday Night Live” veteran Norm Macdonald as its new white-suited spokesman in a series of TV ads. He replaces fellow SNL actor Darrell Hammond.
“I think the fans will agree.”
The latest TV commercials pay homage to KFC’s history, his branders say.
“For the first ads, we rebooted things that made Kentucky Fried Chicken the most favorite chicken brand in the world,” Hochman said from Louisville, Kentucky. “We brought back the Colonel’s iconic office, his white stretch limo, and the children’s mandolin band he outfitted with instruments and white Colonel Suits to create authentic Kentucky bluegrass music.”
Macdonald said: “I was blown away when I learned that Colonel Sanders didn’t even start KFC until he was 65. That’s a whole lot of legend to fit into a couple decades, and it takes a strong work ethic, the kind you don’t see every day, to do it like he did. He never gave up, never accepted less than the best and never held back an opinion. Plus he looks great in white.”
Along with the fall advertising campaign, KFC is honoring its would-be 125-year old founder’s invention of the “home meal replacement” with the introduction of a family-sized version of the immensely popular $5 Fill Up® – the $20 Family Fill Up™. The menu item supports the Colonel’s belief that a family meal replacement can be plentiful AND valuable when it’s made “the Hard Way” by KFC cooks.
“It makes me feel good that my food has helped make life a little easier for people,” the Colonel once said. And with eight pieces of the Colonel’s Original Recipe® chicken, two large orders of mashed potatoes and gravy, one large coleslaw, and four biscuits – all for just $20 – KFC can continue feeling good about satisfying the entire family for a great price.
Along with the chicken nuggets, social media planted tongue in cheek.
I will not just sit by and let @KFC wreck the legacy of Darrell Hammond’s Col. Sanders. I better not have seen the last of him!
— Paul (@PaulGriffin) August 17, 2015
KFC Hires Norm Macdonald to Replace Darrell Hammond as “The Real Colonel Sanders”: Watch the Tongue-in-Cheek Ads: http://t.co/odWUD64mPv
— Celeb Update (@CelebUpdate) August 17, 2015
Following outrage, KFC has replaced Darrell Hammond with Norm MacDonald for new ad campaign http://t.co/cAxyvrdJ5H pic.twitter.com/KAlyCPN1oa
— National Post Arts (@nparts) August 17, 2015
Why isn’t the actor who plays Colonel Sanders in the new KFC ads running in the GOP presidential primaries? Best challenger for Trump.
— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) August 10, 2015
So hey @KFC, I swear I’ll eat there once a week if you get rid of those FREAKING CREEPY A** NIGHTMARE FUEL COLONEL SANDERS ADS
— Michele Frost (@michelelfrost) August 8, 2015