If you haven’t seen the latest KFC TV advert then click on the video above and kick back for a couple of mins. It’s ok, I’ll wait……

Good wasn’t it?

It’s a prime example of a few really effective advertising techniques working in unison really nicely, and by getting into it, and learning how these different cogs mesh together, can teach us a lot about what makes great ads tick.

So, what is really going on in this ad? Well first and foremost it’s funny. And although comedy isn’t something that there is a simple recipe for, we have had a lot of funny but ultimately forgettable adverts in our time. No, it isn’t comedy alone that makes this particular commercial shine, it’s brave, it creates its own narrative unique to its product, and it’s relatable.

So firstly, that courage. This ad is ballsy in two powerful ways. It compares the brand to a mobster, mafia-like gangster character, not generally a positive, family friendly characterisation but we’ve seen success in this before with the Direct Line adverts.

Turning this stereotype on its head and framing a positive character as a mob boss is funny… but still a little risky! The ad then goes on to target its high street imitators. KFC has nothing to fear from Quentin’s Fried Chicken, or Memphis Fried Chicken, but instead its claim that they are imitators, and the assertion that KFC is better, is bold and assumptive.

That said, being bold and assumptive about the positive qualities of your product is advertising 101. Confidence to the point of arrogance without stepping over the line increases faith in the customer. It works. It’s worked for years.

Ok, so the ad is funny and confident, what else?

It tells a story, it creates a narrative space that future ads can occupy for years to come. Somewhere between a campaign and a brand, a narrative can frame your ads in a highly memorable and engaging way. Many brands have done this before with HUGE success. I mentioned Direct Line’s ‘Winston Wolf’ earlier, but a prime unforgettable example is the Meerkats for Compare the Market. The meerkat characters and story has continued across Compare the Market’s ads for years, supporting individual campaigns that come and go but remaining true to the core characters and story the entire time.

Arguably one of the first brands to play with this idea was OXO with the OXO family. Their ads literally continued a story from one ad to the next, almost like a soap opera.

Many years later, BT would copy that formula to great success with Kris Marshall and Esther Hall’s relationship and family playing out across a series of ads.

The fact I’m referencing these examples shows their impact but I guarantee many people out there remember these well-known adverts.

So KFC have created a potential ongoing universe for future ads, their gangster Colonel, cruising around the lawless streets of Chicken Town, exerting his dominance over his imitators. There’s loads more story potential here, I personally hope they play with this a bit more.

So, what’s left after comedy, confidence and continuity?

Perhaps most significant of all is the advert’s relatability. We’ve all seen Chicken Town in our home towns, we’ve all huddled in one of those high street chicken doppelgangers after a night out, waiting for something that we know is going to be, at best, a slight disappointment. And most of all, we know they’re all trying to imitate KFC. Their names are even designed to sound like KFC, usually a three-letter acronym with ‘fried’ and ‘chicken’ taking up two of the three spaces.

This isn’t the first time a fast-food brand has tried relatability to great success. Take the McDonalds ad of a few years ago featuring the differences in lifestyle between a young teen and a pensioner, only for them to share a knowing glance across the McDonalds table as they both pour their chips into the empty half of their open burger boxes. We all do it, and we know we do, and that gives us a warm feeling inside.

When big brands express an understanding of these little things that we think only us and our mates are aware of, it makes the brands feel a little smaller, a little more accessible. It vindicates and justifies us in our actions, no matter how small and insignificant, and it makes us feel good.

Any one of these 4 ingredients would make an ad good, but an expert combination of all four can make an ad great, and KFC have demonstrated that to great effect. Putting together an ad likes this takes research, hard work and a strong knowledge of customer’s perspectives and expectations. You don’t get to an ad like this through trial and error, by throwing out different things and seeing what sticks.

An ad like this starts with a secret recipe of research, knowledge of the brand history and demographic information. It’s then battered and deep fried in the experience and inspirational nouse of a skilled agency. And finally, it is delivered hot and fresh so that it catches the eye and generates customer engagement.

Man, I really fancy a KFC now…

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