2022 Winners & Shortlists

CHICKENSTOCK

Short List
BrandKFC
Product/ServiceKFC
EntrantTBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategorySocial Behaviour & Cultural Insight
Idea Creation TBWA\RAAD Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement HEARTS & SCIENCE Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production SONIDO ANTRO Miami, USA

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

This campaign showcases how KFC was able to play on an insight that’s ingrained within the culture of the region and turned a negative situation upside down, going directly to the root of their problem. Instead of going after its image thieves, KFC targeted them directly with a website that would make the theft of their images easier. In the end, the brand comes out with free advertising across a wide range of media… and a funny story for people to talk about.

Background

Did you know that people steal KFC’s product photos? Yes, it happens. Counterfeits are everywhere. Clothes, bags, shoes, phones, watches, jewelry, movies, and everything in between. But a thing that is commonly counterfeited is something you wouldn’t expect: KFC photos. From the largest cities to the smallest villages across the MENA region, restaurants, corner shops and cafeterias share a very familiar set of photos: KFC’s fried chicken, Zingers, Twisters, etc. And the reality was that there was very little KFC could do about it. That’s not the worst part. KFC is very proud of their photos. They’re intentionally crafted to be mouthwatering, craveable. Anyone gets tempted by them. However, these photos were being murdered: copied in low resolution, stretched, inverted, distorted, even pixelated beyond recognition. A crime against KFC’s reputation.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

If others were going to steal product shots from KFC, well, at least do it properly. It is said that imitation is the best form of flattery; and KFC was being flattered over and over again. Besides, we can’t sue every one of them… So why fight an endless battle? Instead of pursuing them, let’s help them do KFC’s bidding: if you want to steal our photos, do it right. After all, the better it looks, the more KFC can benefit. The more others use KFC photos, the better. At the same time, it was time everyone knew the truth: our food looks so good, others can’t help themselves. While images are easy to steal, Finger Lickin’ Good taste is not. Introducing KFC Chicken Stock: an image database filled with delicious drool-worthy chicken for anyone to use by downloading high-resolution KFC photos in all their glory, absolutely free.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

KFC’s reputation was on the line. KFC puts a lot of effort into not just making their food taste great but look amazing as well. You could say these are the reasons for your sudden cravings - and others were using them. Worse: counterfeit copies were also ruining them. Those beautifully produced images, taken and retouched with care and intention, were beyond recognition. Bad resolution, cropped, distorted. And some of them even shamelessly carried elements from the KFC brandbook. The central problem here? Crappy misplaced KFC photos could ruin decades of effort in building attributes such as quality, taste and trust. That simply won’t do. We needed a way to turn a negative situation upside down, while still owning everyone else’s food shots and bringing people’s attention to the matter. More importantly, we wanted the truth out there: all these delicious looking chicken images come from one place: KFC.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

Simply put, those stealing our photos were going to help us advertise our chicken. In this way, anyone who used the brand’s photos was giving KFC free advertising. Instead of getting people’s mouths watering through media buys, competitors were doing it for us. To start a conversation, we told people the truth in newspapers: “Others are stealing our pictures, but we can’t blame them, they look mouthwatering. That’s why we’re letting them do it, as long as they do it right.” We filled our database with immaculate images of fried chicken and left it open for anyone to use. They looked too good for anyone to miss out on. Downloading the photos also gave away their location, letting us push an OOH campaign in those locations, reinforcing the same point: “KFC is so craveable, that even competitors cannot help themselves. While our images are easy to steal, our taste isn’t.”

List the results (30% of vote)

Our image bank made over 500+ chicken images available for everyone to download. And it worked! We got over 4,378 downloads from the entire region. (That means that more than 100 small restaurants, cafeterias and corner shops downloaded images!) We received over 256,400 unique visitors on the website, proving we don’t just have the most craveable chicken, but also a great sense of humor and a magnanimous attitude – even to counterfeiters. Meanwhile the impact on the perception of KFC was huge as per the results of our online community survey: the brand was seen as increasing in “Modernity” by 37% and “Likeability” by 24% - very important metrics for a heritage brand. Meanwhile, zero (yes, zero) photo thief was arrested, and all enjoyed a nice meal. Because good chicken is not just about great taste, it’s also about great moments together.

Please tell us about the social behaviour and / or cultural insights that inspired your work

In the region, counterfeits are abundant: Adibos, Boos, Pitza-Hot and Bulberry…there’s a counterfeit for everything. And it’s the same when it comes to KFC. Zingers and twisters are everywhere to the extent they’ve become generic names for chicken burgers and sandwiches. These occurrences have become part of the culture, and it’s completely normal for people to see KFC’s badly cropped and pixelated images plastered on menus and signage in restaurants, corner shops and cafeterias. People have come to know this all too well! and it’s become a fun challenge for themselves to recognise an image from KFC behind all the horrible alterations it went through.

Credits

Name Company Role
Walid Kanaan TBWA\RAAD Chief Creative Officer
Alex Pineda TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Jim Robbins TBWA\RAAD Executive Creative Director
Joe Lahham TBWA\RAAD Managing Director
Jennifer Fischer TBWA\RAAD Chief Innovation Officer
Augusto Correia TBWA\RAAD Associate Creative Director
Hugo Agostinho TBWA\RAAD Art Director
Mehwish Rafi TBWA\RAAD Planning Director
Ramez Rahal TBWA\RAAD Strategy
John Abiad TBWA\RAAD Senior Account Director
Ashleigh Morgan TBWA\RAAD Senior Account Manager
Emad Doughan TBWA\RAAD Head of Digital
Rony Skaf TBWA\RAAD Digital Account Director
Doug Mackay TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Tarik Frank TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Zeina Safa TBWA\RAAD Copywriter
Romy Abdelnour TBWA\RAAD PR & Communications
Abhilash Nadukkandy TBWA\RAAD Motion Designer
Ezzat Habra TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Naveen Madurakariyan TBWA\RAAD Traffic
Lucas Duque Sonido Antro Audio Production
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