KFC or ZFC?

This KFC ad is much-praised online. Yet, I think it's misguided.

By promoting imitation fried chicken shops, I think KFC is doing something they might regret.

To explain, I need to share a study.

Titled: To be in Vogue, the researchers analyzed adverts from years in Vogue magazine for this study.

The researchers wanted to see if middle-brow fashion brands could raise their prices if they competed with high-end brands like Gucci.

In other words, is the Halo Effect so powerful that placing your ad next to Gucci’s could boost your status?

Their study concluded that yes, it does.

Simply placing a middle-brow brand’s ad next to a high-end one increased the perceived status of that brand and the willingness to pay.

I couldn't stop thinking about this study.

So, I decided to test it myself.

My experiment (which some may remember) was simple.

I contacted 100 Brits using Google Surveys.

I asked the group a simple question, “Would you listen to this podcast?”, and I included a picture of the Nudge logo.

However, I added a twist.

Half of the participants saw the Nudge logo on a blue background.

The other half saw the logo, but this time, you could see the faint, dimmed logos of other popular podcasts in the background.

My results matched the study's findings. Being pictured next to popular peers made Brits almost 3x more likely to listen.

Which brings me back to the KFC ad.

My problem with this ad is it's giving the imitation brands the halo effect benefits that my podcast received.

WFC, RFC, XFC and the rest will be seen as more credible by being associated with KFC.

If the study results hold, then customers should be more willing to try the imitation brands, which is surely not what KFC hoped.

All too often, ads that seem smart in the boardroom fail in the real world, and I reckon this might be one of them.

But what do you think? Reply and let me know.

Finally, big thanks to today’s sponsor, Planable.

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Cheers!

Phill

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