 "Campaign Logic: That's what friends are for")
Brand: KFC India
Budget: Rs 10-15 crore
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Fast-food chains have traditionally weathered a slowdown better than their more expensive competitors. When prices shoot through the roof and consumers need to reduce spending, cheaper alternatives such as KFC Buckets and McDonald's Economeals appear more attractive. No wonder much of the advertising for brands in the category have been tactical - largely offer or value driven.
Here's how the ad rolls out: Two friends at a KFC restaurant, one with a black eye. They are communicating in sign language, as one of them is specially-abled. The friend with the black eye asks why he gets to have only one piece of chicken from the KFC Duo Friendship Bucket which has four pieces, despite getting involved in a brawl for his buddy. The other guy responds that since his friend has got only one black eye, he deserves only one piece of KFC chicken. The television commercial (TVC) ends with a voice-over saying, "Friendship mehengi padh sakti hai, KFC nahin (a friendship may prove to be costly, but not KFC)."
The ad is part of a larger "Unlikely Friendship" campaign that started in August. The current ad uses the two friends who had earlier promoted its Friendship Bucket that offered four of KFC's different types of chicken - all in one shareable bucket.
Says Lluis Ruiz Ribot, chief marketing officer, KFC India, "We are celebrating the diversity and quirkiness of 'Unlikely Friendships' with our new ad." The Duo Bucket offers four pieces of Hot 'n Crispy for Rs 200.
More than ever before, KFC has its work cut out. Competition is everywhere, and that includes both home-grown and international brands. So the underlying strategy seems purely to drive traffic. And "friendship" came across as the most suitable vehicle to mount the campaign. "Friendship has always been one of the most important and deep relationships in the lives of the youth. At KFC, we want to inspire people to have a different take on it, by championing diversity in friendship. We believe that the more unlike your friends are from you, the richer the friendship is. That's why our latest campaign, 'Unlikely Friendships', focuses on friends who are different, yet together," adds Ribot.
"The idea behind the 'Unlikely Friendship' campaign was to bring together friends who like different KFC products but are united by their common love for KFC chicken. It questions the belief that being dissimilar leads to differences of opinion; instead it underscores a simple idea that "Dost jitney alag hote hain, Friendship utni kamal ki hoti hai."
How did the idea to include a differently-abled person come about?
"While developing the commercial for the new KFC Friendship bucket, we wanted to inspire people to have a different take on it, by championing diversity in friendship. Furthermore, KFC as a brand is committed to have a positive impact in the communities in which we work and live. We pioneered employment of the specially-abled at our stores in 2008 and have been running this programme successfully for eight years now. Thus it isn't a new theme for us. However this is the first time we integrated this theme in our TVC," adds Ribot.
To put things in perspective, the QSR (quick service restaurant) market in India currently stands at over Rs 8,500 crore, and is expected to touch the Rs 25,000-crore mark by 2020. KFC has 300-plus outlets in India. As Indians begin to spend more on eating out, competition is heating up in the sector, with foreign chains like Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, Wendy's and Carl's Jr. setting up shop in the last two years or so.
Budget: Rs 10-15 crore
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather
Fast-food chains have traditionally weathered a slowdown better than their more expensive competitors. When prices shoot through the roof and consumers need to reduce spending, cheaper alternatives such as KFC Buckets and McDonald's Economeals appear more attractive. No wonder much of the advertising for brands in the category have been tactical - largely offer or value driven.
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Such trading-down has held up brands such as KFC at a time when prices went up sharply across the board, when fast-food companies were able to lure customers who would think twice before stepping into a casual restaurant. A new piece communication promoting the KFC Duo Friendship Bucket falls in the same category: it focuses purely on the "value" aspect of a new offer without being in your face.
Here's how the ad rolls out: Two friends at a KFC restaurant, one with a black eye. They are communicating in sign language, as one of them is specially-abled. The friend with the black eye asks why he gets to have only one piece of chicken from the KFC Duo Friendship Bucket which has four pieces, despite getting involved in a brawl for his buddy. The other guy responds that since his friend has got only one black eye, he deserves only one piece of KFC chicken. The television commercial (TVC) ends with a voice-over saying, "Friendship mehengi padh sakti hai, KFC nahin (a friendship may prove to be costly, but not KFC)."
The ad is part of a larger "Unlikely Friendship" campaign that started in August. The current ad uses the two friends who had earlier promoted its Friendship Bucket that offered four of KFC's different types of chicken - all in one shareable bucket.
Says Lluis Ruiz Ribot, chief marketing officer, KFC India, "We are celebrating the diversity and quirkiness of 'Unlikely Friendships' with our new ad." The Duo Bucket offers four pieces of Hot 'n Crispy for Rs 200.
More than ever before, KFC has its work cut out. Competition is everywhere, and that includes both home-grown and international brands. So the underlying strategy seems purely to drive traffic. And "friendship" came across as the most suitable vehicle to mount the campaign. "Friendship has always been one of the most important and deep relationships in the lives of the youth. At KFC, we want to inspire people to have a different take on it, by championing diversity in friendship. We believe that the more unlike your friends are from you, the richer the friendship is. That's why our latest campaign, 'Unlikely Friendships', focuses on friends who are different, yet together," adds Ribot.
"The idea behind the 'Unlikely Friendship' campaign was to bring together friends who like different KFC products but are united by their common love for KFC chicken. It questions the belief that being dissimilar leads to differences of opinion; instead it underscores a simple idea that "Dost jitney alag hote hain, Friendship utni kamal ki hoti hai."
How did the idea to include a differently-abled person come about?
"While developing the commercial for the new KFC Friendship bucket, we wanted to inspire people to have a different take on it, by championing diversity in friendship. Furthermore, KFC as a brand is committed to have a positive impact in the communities in which we work and live. We pioneered employment of the specially-abled at our stores in 2008 and have been running this programme successfully for eight years now. Thus it isn't a new theme for us. However this is the first time we integrated this theme in our TVC," adds Ribot.
To put things in perspective, the QSR (quick service restaurant) market in India currently stands at over Rs 8,500 crore, and is expected to touch the Rs 25,000-crore mark by 2020. KFC has 300-plus outlets in India. As Indians begin to spend more on eating out, competition is heating up in the sector, with foreign chains like Dunkin' Donuts, Burger King, Wendy's and Carl's Jr. setting up shop in the last two years or so.