KFC ‘Anything for the Taste’

Project Description

You’ve heard of The Tinder Swindler, but another shameless trickster has been darkening the doorways of KFCs across South Africa. Word spread far and wide on social media that someone was visiting KFC restaurants posing as a quality assurance inspector and, while the truth of this assertion has not been confirmed, it does demonstrate the extraordinary lengths people will go to for the irresistible finger-licking-good-taste of the world’s most famous chicken. Inspired by this viral report of a KFC-obsessed imposter. This wonderfully disarming, tongue-in-cheek homage to the comedy-laced crime capers of filmmakers such as the Coen Brothers playfully and powerfully leans into the cinematic conventions of the heist movie genre but with a wholly unique and authentically South African flavour. This is enriched by subtly comedic and strongly credible performances by local actors, textured art direction and meticulous production design, and a diverse range of locations across the country that bring the full extent of our fraudster’s finger-licking-good-obsession to life. The irrepressible energy of the film is enhanced by a punchy and dynamic edit that makes the most of the performances and comedic beats, whilst the brilliant use of ambient and diegetic sound coupled with a superb soundtrack – the iconic ‘Summertime and the Livin’ is Easy’ by Billy Stewart – delivers memorable cinematic heft, depth and impact.

ABOUT THE WORK

KFC, South Africa’s number one fried chicken restaurant had lost its relevancy amongst younger audiences, and this was felt in declining sales & overall negative sentiment found on social media. We needed to remind them of the power of our iconic finger lickin’ good Taste in a non-traditional advertising way, something that the youth are getting more and more allergic to. So we found a story that no one could ignore. Reports had surfaced online that a man was posing as a KFC food inspector in order to get access to free KFC. Even though there was no real evidence to support it, the urban legend quickly became a fan favourite. So we looked at these reports as living proof that some people would go to great lengths for the irresistible Taste of KFC and this inspired our new creative platform: ‘ANYTHING FOR THE TASTE’. In dedication to this illusive fake food inspector, that may or may not have existed, we wanted to tell the story of the greatest chicken heist that gripped the nation. We created an epic 2.5 minute film of a man armed only with a disguise and an insatiable hunger for KFC, travelled across South Africa hitting different KFC branches to get his hands on their iconic Taste. Influenced by well-known heist movie genres, our brand storytelling allowed us to seamlessly show a variety of KFC meals where the Taste was the score, KFC was the mark and Mr Molapo was the intrepid mastermind all concluding with the classic plot twist in the end. The strong performance from our lead, layered with masterfully crafted cinematography and an adapted version of the track ‘Summertime’ by Billy Stewart; made the piece an instant classic, loved and lauded by all. This showed in the results after launch; the film was the most watched advert on YouTube in 2022, KFC became the number one brand amongst the youth & they saw an 18% sales increase during the campaign – proving that most believe that some would really do Anything for the Taste.

IDIDTHAT MEMBER CREDITS

Agency: Ogilvy South Africa (Joburg)
Animation Company: Chocolate Tribe
Cinematography: Adam Bentel / KrewKut
Editing Company: Deliverance
Editor: Ricky Boyd
Director: Greg Gray
Production Company: Romance
Music Supervisor (licensed): Marc Algranti
Post Production Facility: Chocolate Tribe
VFX Operator: Jean Du Plessis
Recording Studio: Sterling Sound
Sound Designer: Lorens Person