Trent Steel
02-24-2006, 07:56 PM
What's the Secret Buried in That KFC Ad?
You have to give KFC a lot of credit. For once, people won't be using their DVR technology to fast-forward through the ads on their favorite TV shows they recorded. Instead, they'll be using their remote controls to slow down and carefully study that Kentucky Fried Chicken ad.
Why? KFC unveiled a new television ad on Thursday that allows viewers to crack a hidden message if they play the spot back slowly on a digital video recorder or VCR, reports The Associated Press. Yeah, it's a gimmick. But it just might work in the company's favor. Instead of blasting the technology that allows viewers to skip the ads, KFC is working with it. "This is taking the exact opposition approach--rewarding viewers for taking the time to engage and be interactive with television," Tom O'Keefe, an executive at Foote Cone & Belding, the advertising agency that created the spot for KFC Corp., told AP.
The secret message, which is buried in just a few of the ad's frames, can only be seen when played in slow motion. "To the naked eye, it's a typical KFC television commercial," Scott Bergren, chief marketing officer at KFC, a unit of Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc., told AP.
You have to give KFC a lot of credit. For once, people won't be using their DVR technology to fast-forward through the ads on their favorite TV shows they recorded. Instead, they'll be using their remote controls to slow down and carefully study that Kentucky Fried Chicken ad.
Why? KFC unveiled a new television ad on Thursday that allows viewers to crack a hidden message if they play the spot back slowly on a digital video recorder or VCR, reports The Associated Press. Yeah, it's a gimmick. But it just might work in the company's favor. Instead of blasting the technology that allows viewers to skip the ads, KFC is working with it. "This is taking the exact opposition approach--rewarding viewers for taking the time to engage and be interactive with television," Tom O'Keefe, an executive at Foote Cone & Belding, the advertising agency that created the spot for KFC Corp., told AP.
The secret message, which is buried in just a few of the ad's frames, can only be seen when played in slow motion. "To the naked eye, it's a typical KFC television commercial," Scott Bergren, chief marketing officer at KFC, a unit of Louisville-based Yum! Brands Inc., told AP.