KFC Scraps ‘Finger Lickin’ Good’ Promo Campaign Due to Coronavirus Panic

By Syakir Roslan • 16 Mar 2020 in News

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Poor ol’ Colonel (God rest his soul). Most of us are pretty aware of KFC’s famous slogan which describes its fried chicken as ‘finger lickin’ good’, so the saying goes. While I personally agree with that sentiment, it seems like lickin’ your fingers after devouring a snack plate isn’t the best of things to do amidst the whole Covid-19 pandemic that’s reached nearly (if not) every corner of the globe.

That being said, KFC’s UK team made the understandable move of ditching a promotional ad campaign highlighting their fried chickens’ finger lickin’ goodness. In conjunction with the now scrapped campaign, they released a promotional video on YouTube which has been made private from public viewing. Thankfully, this is the internet and people managed to snag some screenshots from the ad:

KFC suspends iconic ‘finger lickin’ good’ slogan amid coronavirus fears https://t.co/vS6pGFoI7P pic.twitter.com/9zCskYnKIf

— New York Post (@nypost) March 13, 2020

It probably doesn’t help the company that the original video itself, while made private on their YouTube channel, has already been saved and posted onto several websites such as the New York Post. Have a look at what would’ve been a perfectly normal and even craving-inducing advert if Coronavirus didn’t have to ruin it for everyone:

In a statement made to The Independent, a spokesperson from KFC explained that “It doesn’t feel like the right time to be airing this campaign, so we’ve decided to pause it for now – but we’re really proud of it and look forward to bringing it back at a later date,”. When exactly they plan to bring it back is uncertain at the moment but this definitely seems like the right call on KFC’s part.

After receiving 163 complaints from the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in addition to getting clowned on social media, you’d most probably do the same if you were in their shoes. As of now, while you shouldn’t feel guilty or scared to enjoy a good serving of the Colonel’s chicken, it’s definitely best if you avoid any finger lickin’ in general no matter how tempting it might be.