KFC Seems to Win Game of Chicken

Monday, March 20th, 2006

Like many people — approximately 10 percent of TV viewers — I don’t have to watch commercials anymore. I fast-forward through them on my DVR.

KFC’s recent ad gimmick got around the DVR problem and turned it to their advantage. From KFC Seems to Win Game of Chicken:

The fast-food chain’s spot was designed to circumvent Madison Avenue’s latest nemesis: digital video recorders that make it easy for viewers to skip ads. The ad, which ran nationally from Feb. 23 to March 3 on network and cable channels, had something extra for people watching with their TV set hooked up to a DVR. A single frame contained a code word — ‘Buffalo’ — which viewers could use to claim a coupon for a free ‘Buffalo Snacker’ KFC chicken sandwich. Only viewers who used their DVR, or an analog video cassette recorder, to slow the ad and watch it frame by frame could see the code.

To ensure viewers would know when to pause their DVRs, KFC announced details of when the ad would run — including in which programs, such as Fox’s ’24′ and CBS’s ‘Survivor.’ That ensured the spot got lots of publicity: 250 mentions in the media, KFC estimates, including from some TV stations that ran the commercial free as part of a news report. It got even more attention after Walt Disney’s ABC network refused to air the spot on the grounds that it was subliminal advertising. (ABC ran a version of the spot without the hidden message. KFC will continue to air this version of the spot until April 4.)

Did the idea work? KFC thinks so. Roughly 103,000 people claimed ‘Buffalo Snacker’ coupons after entering the hidden code on KFC’s Web site, the fast-food chain says. Furthermore, the publicity prompted an increase in the number of people visiting KFC’s Web site. In the weeks the ad ran, the site drew 2.75 million page views, 40% more than the amount of traffic it usually gets over a similar period of time.

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Isegoria

KFC Seems to Win Game of Chicken

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