When nearly four in five servings of fried chicken in the U.S. are served “off the bone” – strips, bites, and filets – what’s the most famous fried chicken restaurant in the world to do? For KFC, the answer was simple: Get rid of the bones.
KFC is introducing Original Recipe Boneless – boneless, skinless pieces of both white and dark meat chicken, hand breaded using the Original Recipe made famous by Colonel Harland Sanders. It’s KFC for the way consumers live – and eat chicken – today. It’s everything they love about Original Recipe chicken, but without the bones.
“Our customers have seen the beginning of a menu revolution at KFC over the past several months, as we’ve introduced new, contemporary products such as Original Recipe Bites, Chicken Littles, Li’l Bucket Kids Meals, and Dip’ems,” says John Cywinski, president of KFC U.S. “Now we’re proud to introduce the flagship product on the KFC menu, Original Recipe Boneless. This is more than just a promotional product; it’s a new way of doing business at KFC.”
While the world-famous flavor of Original Recipe chicken continues to receive rave reviews around the world, consumers are increasingly seeking out boneless, skinless chicken.
“We’ve never seen such positive reaction to a test product,” Cywinski says. “Original Recipe Boneless is a real game-changer that transforms how customers think about KFC. Bottom line, it’s a big idea and we’re going to have some fun with it.”
Beginning on the 14th, customers can enjoy a two-piece Boneless Combo for just $4.99, including a piece of dark meat, a piece of white meat, an individual side item, a biscuit, and a medium drink. For family dinners, KFC is offering a 10-piece mixed bucket, which includes four pieces of Boneless (two white and two dark) and six pieces of our world-famous chicken on the bone for only $14.99. (Offer good at participating locations. Pricing may vary by location. Tax extra.)
While KFC customers are noticing a new look for the KFC menu with the introduction of Boneless, they likely won’t look at the brand’s television advertising the same way either. The two 30-second commercials feature an “I Ate The Bones!” theme that communicates that Boneless delivers everything KFC fans love about Original Recipe – except for the bones.
The two commercials, along with two 15-second tease commercials that are airing the week before launch, were created by Draftfcb Chicago and directed by Academy Award-nominated Director David O. Russell along with production company Wondros. Russell was most recently nominated for an Oscar for best director for “Silver Linings Playbook.”
The commercials were so buzzworthy in test markets in 2012, customers began mentioning them in social media, using the hashtag #IAteTheBones with no prompting from the brand. Some customers even made their own YouTube videos, documenting their amazing “I Ate The Bones” moments when they tried the product for the first time.
