KFC and KD are launching a 360-degree campaign to highlight their partnership and new LTOs.

The “It’s Finger Lickin’ KD” campaign – which promotes the new Original Recipe Flavour Mac and Cheese; the KD Mac and Cheese Chicken Sandwich, and the Mac and Cheese Snacker Wrap – combines the most familiar elements of KFC and KD in a tribute to these brands coming together for the first time. All three offers will be available at all 600 KFC locations across Canada this summer.

The campaign’s creativity features a video with Colonel Sanders secretly sprinkling KFC’s classic blend of 11 herbs and spices into a bowl of KD. It also included two additional films showing Sanders taking a bite of the new KD Mac and Cheese sandwich and splashing his classic white suit with a KD noodle.

Fifteen-second versions of the videos are being aired on linear, CTV and in theaters. The brands also posted the content on Instagram ahead of the campaign launch, and are running static and digital OOH ads at Yonge and Dundas Square and Union York GO Concourse. In addition, the media plan includes a partnership with influencers and paid social networks.

Wavemaker is handling paid media with Zeno Group on PR and influencers. Courage is behind the creative.

Jordan Sequeira, marketing manager of brand and partnerships at KFC Canada, tells MiC that the idea was to support the collaboration with an integrated campaign that would generate impact and buzz across different touch points. Yonge and Dundas and Union York GO Concourse are busy spaces in Toronto, so the teams thought they were the ideal spots to activate the OOH placement and capture the attention of KD and KFC fans alike.

The digital activation, including on Instagram, was also important to both brands, as the majority of the target audience spends their time there, Sequeira says. “Both brands have a playful persona on Instagram that is a perfect complement for this exciting, first-of-its-kind collab,” he adds.

Brian Neumann, head of communications at Kraft Heinz Canada, tells MiC that the partnership stemmed from the brands’ shared goal of providing greater personalization and new food combinations to their customers, particularly Gen Z consumers, who are hungry for more flavours.

KD and KFC also seek to reach Millennials, who have a long-standing affinity for the brands, but may not be their first choice when eating out. “For these consumers, bringing two of their favourite brands to life in a new and unique way is a great chance for us to earn their attention and drive desire,” Neumann says.

The campaign is a natural extension of KD’s 2023 repositioning, reflecting the brand’s status as a staple that continues to find ways to delight Canadians with experiences in their everyday lives. For KFC, the collab channels the nature of KFC, embodying the spirit of Sanders with a playful swagger, says Sequeira.