KFC publicity stunt ends in international incident

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28 Oct 2009


KFC's latest publicity stunt involving the United Nations is just another example of the outrageous means Yum! Brands chains will take to get attention.

Last year, it was a public letter to rapper 50 Cent from Taco Bell asking him to change his name to 79, 89 or 99 Cent for a day to promote the chain's value menu. The rapper was not amused and filed a $4 million lawsuit for trademark infringement.

This spring, fellow Yum! Brands chain KFC paired up with Oprah Winfrey to promote its new grilled chicken, a public relations fiasco that overwhelmed under-prepared operators as consumers flocked to stores with a downloadable coupon for a free two-piece meal. The chain also wrote letters to select U.S. mayors offering to fill the cities' potholes in exchange for the opportunity to temporarily brand the streets. The offer drew critics' scorn and was turned down by several cities.

Last week, KFC sent a tongue-in-cheek letter to the U.N. asking for acceptance of the company's Grilled Nation — representing the 60 million people who have purchased its Kentucky Grilled Chicken — as its 193rd member country. The company also offered free samples of the grilled chicken across the street from U.N. headquarters to promote Monday's in-store free piece of grilled chicken event. The brand's Colonel Sanders' impersonator was on hand to greet visitors.

The promotion might have ended there, with the U.N. chastising the company for inappropriate use of its name for commercial purposes. But a U.N. security guard invited Bob Thompson, the Colonel's impersonator, inside for a tour and then allowed him access to Ali A. Treki of Libya, the General Assembly’s president, according to a story by The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky.

Thompson told The Courier-Journal that the security guard took him around the U.N. headquarters for several photo opportunities, including one with Treki's family and one in the General Assembly's chamber.

Now, the U.N. is reviewing the incident as a security breach, which could lead to the guard being disciplined. And KFC is apologizing.

From The Courier-Journal:
KFC, part of Louisville-based Yum Brands, said Tuesday that the company hasn’t heard from the U.N. about the incident — and hopes there are no hard feelings.

"KFC has the utmost respect for the United Nations, and this lighthearted event in New York City was in no way meant to undermine the important work that the U.N. does around the world," spokesman Rick Maynard said in an e-mail on Tuesday.

KFC's Colonel Sanders tricks his way into UN to pose for 'official' photo

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A man impersonating the Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders managed to dupe his way into the UN headquarters in New York and shake hands with a senior official.
Dressed in the fast food icon's familiar white suit and black bow tie, the actor evaded tight security to gain access to the restricted areas of the complex.

He even posed for a photograph with Ali Treki, the new president of the UN General Assembly, before the alarm was raised and he was ejected.

A spokeswoman for Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, yesterday said that an investigation had been launched into the security breach, which was dreamed up by KFC as a promotional stunt.

"It should not have happened – that I will stress, and very strongly," Michele Montas told Canwest News Service, the Canadian news agency.

"There was some lapse in security and the individual in question was, on the initiative of one security guard, taken into the UN."

As part of its campaign to promote a new menu range, KFC is "lobbying" the UN for the fictional Grilled Nation to be accepted as a member state.

The fast food giant has written to Mr Ki-moon personally asking for grilled chicken lovers to be be represented at the assembly, in a letter dismissed by Mrs Montas as "absolutely void".

A spokesman for Dr Treki, a former Libyan foreign minister, denied that he held a meeting with the Colonel Sanders impersonator, claiming that he only shook his hand out of courtesy during the incident on Thursday.

The actor, named by KFC as Robert Thompson, also posed for photos in the main General Assembly hall beneath the UN logo.

The real Colonel Sanders died in 1980, half a century after devising the "secret recipe" of herbs and spices that is still used for cooking chicken in KFC restaurants today.

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They are getting desperate now!!!

Wow... you're right Kiwi. It REEKS of desperation! If they want loads of FREE publicity though, why don't they just go BACK to the O.R of the REAL Colonel Sanders?!

I'll never understand the foolishness, and shortsightedness of modern Corporate Executives...

*TC shakes his head.

and disgusting the way the Colonels image was used to pull off this shameful publicity scam