"kentuckyfriedchicken" news and stories

Until a fast-food restaurant places ads on the moon, the publicity stunt that KFC used to unveil its new logo earlier this week gets my vote for most bizarre. The chicken purveyor placed a gargantuan logo in the Nevada desert, making it the first brand visible from outer space. The outsized ad measures 87,000 square feet, a whopping six-and-a-half times bigger than the dome of the Taj Mahal.

The new logo is part of a rebranding effort that includes using the name Kentucky Fried Chicken along with reintroducing the slogans "Finger Lickin' Good" and "11 Secret Herbs and Spices." Forgive me while I indulge in some greasy childhood nostalgia as I ponder those slogans. The new logo sports bolder colors and a more defined graphic of the chain's late founder Colonel Harland Sanders. In addition to the crisper likeness, the good colonel has shed his white suit in favor of a red apron.

It's great that KFC is getting back to its roots and letting folks know that the colonel was a real person, but did they really need to build what amounts to a corporate version of the eighth wonder of the world? Gregg Dedrick, president of KFC Corp. had this to say: "If there are extraterrestrials in outer space, KFC wants to become their restaurant of choice. For now, we'll be very content satisfying the entire human population ... Besides, who knows if extraterrestrials even have fingers?" Umm, OK then.

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While watching the Pistons play the Cavs this weekend, I couldn't help but see (sadly, several times!) the commercial for KFC's attempt to get in on the bowl trend (about two years too late, mind you) with the Cheesy Chicken Mashed Potato Bowl. Apparently, this thing is mashed potatoes, then gravy, then corn, then fried chicken pieces, then grated cheddar cheese.

Some have deemed it the "Cardiac Arrest Bowl."

Various forums, meanwhile, are abuzz with questions like "do cheese and gravy mix?"

For me, it's never simply a question of "is it tasty?" For me, it's a question of "is it tasteful?"

I can't help but wonder what other products are awaiting us in the coming years:

• The Thanksgiving Dinner Bowl: base of yams, then cranberry paste, then turkey, then gravy, then pumpkin pie, and finally a dollop of Cool Whip
• The 21st Birthday Bowl: base of 6 french fries, then Irish Car Bomb, then 6 watermelon shooters, and finally gyro sandwich
• The Bachelor Bowl: base of microwave pizza, then leftover Chinese take-out, then salsa, finally finished by whatever's still in the "Crisper" drawer

[Image Courier-Journal]