Colonel Sanders, the avuncular, gracious avatar of KFC, is now an antihero.
Like the Walter Whites, Don Drapers and other brooding semi-villainous protagonists now commonplace in the modern TV drama, Colonel Sanders 2.0 isn't meant to be liked. Colonel Sanders, who once would have invited you to enjoy his favorite spiced fried chicken with all the hospitality in the world, does not need your approval.
KFC recently debuted a reincarnation of its founder Colonel Harland Sanders in the form of a cackling Darrell Hammond to decidedly mixed reactions on social media.
Around one in five people are not fans of the chicken chain's new mascot, Greg Creed, CEO of KFC parent company Yum! Brands, admitted during a conference in New York this week, according to Food Business News.
But Creed isn't sweating the haters -- in fact, he welcomes them. So long as people are abuzz about the poultry-shilling spokesman, it doesn't particularly matter whether they love him or loathe him, he said.
"I am actually quite happy that 20% hate it, because now they at least have an opinion," Creed said. "They’re actually talking about KFC, and you can market to love and hate; you cannot market to indifference."
Creed's comments speak volumes to those suspicions that always arise whenever brands roll out enigmatic advertising ploys or campaigns in questionable taste--that in the age of Big Viral, marketers deliberately sow controversy, confusion or ridicule to get people stirred up about a product.
Here is a sampling of some of the Twitter reactions to KFC's new frontman:
These new KFC Colonel Sanders commercials are really starting to creep me out...— JD (@TheJD_15) May 29, 2015
Those new KFC commercials with the George Bush version of Colonel Sanders really creep me the fuck out.— Stefanie Stabmon (@slamonella) May 29, 2015
Can we agree the Colonel Sanders revival is terrible? Because I'm pretty sure it's terrible.— Josh Wittenkeller (@TheJWittz) May 28, 2015
Like many other legacy fast-food brands, KFC is struggling to stay relevant to a millennial-dominated public that increasingly prefers the likes of Chipotle and Panera to greasy fast food, despite strong international appeal that has kept sales growing. It's also been losing ground to fried chicken rivals Chick-fil-A and Popeye's.
"We had lost relevance in the U.S. Sixty percent of millennials had not eaten KFC," Creed said at the conference. "I think the upside in the U.S. in making ourselves relevant again from a profit point of view is enormous."
What we do know is that life as a fast-food mascot is rough. McDonald's recently had to insist that it would not fire Ronald McDonald.