Ad of the Day | KFC Christmas campaign celebrates sharing with one-take bucket performance

Nov. 20, 2017

Today, KFC launches its 2017 festive campaign, putting its iconic bucket in the spotlight.

The integrated campaign has been built around the idea that “those who roll together, feast together”. The famous KFC bucket is celebrated by bringing a collective together through a step dance performance to share some of the Colonel’s finest chicken.

In the accompanying TVC, directed by Jake Schreier, Sam Cooke’s classic "Good Times" is performed with a distinctly modern twist. Six artists were recruited to sing, dance and play a step dance group version of the track – with the KFC bucket playing a central role as the only instrument available for the artists to play. The staging and performance are designed to allow the true emotion to shine through, uninterrupted by the filming - with the entire performance captured in one take. The artists Kayla, Nathalie, Lara, Andrea, Odilia and Nicey, who team up to form the ultimate KFC Bucket song group, were chosen from step dance groups from across the UK.

To amplify the ‘roll together, feast together’ message, activations across radio, outdoor, social media, in-restaurant, editorial and TV will be launched in the coming weeks, providing a fully integrated experience. In all of the activations, the concept of sharing is central, being represented in unusual yet authentic ways.

Additionally, KFC have commissioned five artist collectives to design limited-edition buckets that bring the “roll together, feast together” theme to life. The buckets will be available in KFC restaurants across the country, and are a celebration of the different types of modern ‘families’ that Christmas brings together.

The artist groups come from a range of creative backgrounds from across the UK.

• I Love Dust, a 27-strong design collective from the South Coast of England
• Umpteen Press, a Glasgow-based graphic novel collective
• Spit the Atom, a collection of writers and poets
• Shotopop, a team of unconventional design imagineers
• Bread Collective, a network of mural painters from East London

Jack Foley, Senior Brand Manager at KFC UK & Ireland, commented:

“This campaign captures the spirit of a modern British Christmas. Putting the KFC bucket at the heart of it showcases what KFC does best - bringing people together to feast.”

 

Chris Gallery, Partner at Mother:

“We’ve chosen to shoot a simple, paired back execution as this story doesn’t need additional layers of complication to be heard. It’s something that we’ll all want this Christmas - to catch up with friends and family and feast.”