KFC is….So Good?

The So Good Inbox has been blowing up this morning with people asking if I’ve heard the news about KFC’s new marketing slogan.  After months (potentially years) of research, KFC is kicking aside its old “Unthink” slogan and embracing a brand new one: “So Good.”  It’s simple, straight-to-the point, elicits thoughts about good taste, rolls off your tongue and can be easily connected to food and eating.  All the reasons I selected it as the name for my blog nearly 3 years ago.

People have been e-mailing to ask me flat out, “isn’t KFC ripping you off?”  Well, maybe.  But hey, no one really has full dibbes on the phrase “So Good” do they? I’ve been suggesting for upwards of 3-5 years now that this is the perfect phrase for a fast food company to embrace as a slogan.  I mean, how hard is it to realize that “So Good” is a great slogan for a restaurant?  ANYONE could have figured that out all by themselves:

The tagline is the result of the combined efforts of Ogilvy, Sydney; Bartle Bogle Hegarty, London; and DraftFCB, Chicago.

Oh. Well then. I guess it wasn’t just one sharp fellow who figured it out by themselves. Imagine an entire advertising agency of the most creative thinkers. Still not enough. It took not one agency, not two agencies, but three agencies. Yikes.  Well at least it was obvious to the folks at these agencies through simple common sense and deductive logic that  “So Good” is a great slogan, and they didn’t need to be spoon fed the idea by consumers:

The tagline emerged in focus groups, when lapsed customers tasted the product and said, “It’s so good.”

Oh. I see. I guess they did need to be spoon fed the idea.  I’m guessing people made other comments in those focus groups though like:  “Mmmmmm” or  “Yummy.”  Some people may have said,  “This is really greasy” or possibly even, “Do people really still eat shit out of buckets?”

It’s amazing that the collective minds at these three agencies navigated so many potential land mines and managed to emerge unscathed with the idea of “So Good” for a slogan.  I mean hey, one misinterpreted comment at a focus group and they were THIS close to proposing, “KFC: Our shit be in buckets!”  Or maybe the hyperactive focus group leader was pushing hard for “We got buckets baby!” Kind of makes you ask the question “who are the ad wizards who came up with this one?”

Back when I was setting up this site, I wanted to register SoGood.com, but some douchebag was asking like $5,000 for the name, which I didn’t have at the time. Could have been a wise investment, as KFC would no doubt love to secure that URL now.  Unfortunately it looks like aforementioned douchebag is now asking $175,000 for the domain SoGood.com. Yikes. Good luck with that one dude.

So what prompted the change in slogan, KFC’s fifth in as many years? KFC has certainly not failed to keep their name in the news in the past year, with promotions such as free grilled chicken, the debacle around the Oprah grilled chicken coupon, accusations of racist ads and the unveiling of the Double Down.  The problem is that despite all the media coverage, people simply aren’t buying KFC food, with same-store sales down 4% last year as competitors like Chick-fil-A and El Pollo Loco continue to eat into KFC’s market share.

So will the new slogan work? Who knows.  But as a clear lover of the phrase “So Good” it is an honor to know that KFC has hopped on board.  We here at So Good eagerly await the royalty checks that should soon be rolling in. KFC, just e-mail me if you don’t have my direct deposit info.