Kentucky for Christmas

KFC Japan1974

Kentucky for Christmas is a 1974 seasonal promotion and campaign for KFC Japan.

Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii (Kentucky for Christmas)KFC Japan

Why it works

A fast-food chain that wrote itself into another country's holiday. Japan, where about 1% of people are Christian, had no established Christmas tradition. KFC's account is that Takeshi Okawara, manager of its first Japanese restaurant, overheard foreign customers missing turkey and began selling a Christmas 'party barrel' of fried chicken; in 1974 the company took the idea national as 'Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii', Kentucky for Christmas. Stores later dressed their Colonel Sanders statues as Santa. The BBC reported that an estimated 3.6 million Japanese families eat KFC at Christmas, many ordering weeks ahead, with some stores taking up to ten times their usual daily sales; KFC says 24 December is its busiest day of the year. A marketing professor quoted by the BBC studies it as a model promotion that filled a void; KFC Japan's marketing chief told Wired the same Christmas jingle had run for 20 years. It is taught as category creation at cultural scale: the brand supplied a ritual where there was none.

Techniques

Transfer Borrows Christmas, a holiday with no established local tradition, and makes a fried-chicken party barrel its ritual meal.
Mascots and characters Dresses the Colonel Sanders statues outside stores as Santa, merging the brand's character with the season.
Jingles and music Runs the same Christmas jingle for two decades, so the music becomes part of the seasonal habit.