The Colonel vandalizes a Toronto billboard

The Colonel is simply NOT having this new “KFC Twosdays” promotion, even if it means vandalizing a downtown Toronto billboard to express his displeasure.

As part of the integrated campaign showing KFC’s figurehead upset that the chicken chain is selling his signature chicken so cheaply, KFC’s agency Courage erected a billboard at the intersection of Adelaide St. and Spadina Ave. showing him–well, a mannequin that looks like him—using a paint roller to cover up the $2.99 sale price.

“It was a fun process ‘Colonel-izing’ a mannequin,” said Courage art director Tommy Yong in an email interview. “He’s such an iconic figure, from his white three-piece suit, to his glasses, to the way his goatee is shaped.

“Making sure we got the details right was super important to us. We wanted to make sure that whatever angle you looked at the billboard you could make out it was the Colonel.”

Billboards are typically only glanced at, but the goal was to make pedestrians and drivers do a double-take,” said copywriter Matt Miller. “Out of home can be such a fun and powerful medium for brands to play in. This was one of those cases,” he said.

The billboard was erected on April 21, and will be up until the KFC Twosdays promotion concludes on May 31. Wavemaker handled media for the campaign.

Chris Powell