In an effort to both modernize cassette tape technology and pay homage to the classic American road trip, the world’s most innovative fried chicken company Kentucky Fried Chicken announced its latest breakthrough, the world’s first-ever GPS cassette tape. Quite literally, the technologically superior cassette tape provides GPS directions on a cassette tape, with the voice of Colonel Harland Sanders giving overly detailed directions, rambling down hilarious tangents and singing his favorite road trip sing-along songs.
Although nearly all modern-day GPS systems are significantly easier to use (and aren’t based on 30-year-old cassette tape technology), KFC does things The Hard Way, which is how this charming, reverse technological breakthrough came to be.
“The digital audio formats we have today pale in comparison to the mahogany-rich sound of a classic vinyl record,” says Steve Kelly, director of media and digital, KFC U.S. “Unfortunately, no one ever figured out an easy way to put record players in cars, so we went with the next best audio format: a cassette tape.”
Beginning in KFC’s hometown, Louisville, Kentucky, and ending at KFC’s iconic Big Chicken restaurant in Marietta, Georgia, KFC’s GPS cassette tape narrates a picturesque drive through the part of the country responsible for Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ and Nashville Hot—two popular regional flavors that can currently be found on KFC menus nationwide as Extra Crispy Tenders, Chicken Littles, and Extra Crispy Chicken.
The meandering drive makes pit stops at unique cultural experiences in Kentucky, Tennessee and Georgia, including a stop in Corbin, Kentucky, where Col. Sanders invented his Original Recipe
By simply pressing pause on the cassette at any time, road trippers can take in the Americana nostalgia found throughout the Appalachian region, without the distractions of on-screen directions or unrelenting interruptions by artificially intelligent direction apps.
“Through the GPS cassette tape’s off-the-beaten-path prompts, KFC fans are directed to take unexpected turns and try our Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ and Nashville Hot regional flavors along the way—creating a journey full of experiences that recalls the trip Colonel Sanders took selling his famous fried chicken recipe door to door in the 1950s,” said Kelly. Intrepid wanderers Bound For Nowhere and Cameron Fuller will pit traditional GPS against the cassette tape GPS as they hit the road and spend the next two days embarking on the Louisville, Kentucky to Marietta, Georgia trip. KFC fans can follow along through social content posted using #GPSCassette and via their social channels—for Cameron Fuller: Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapchat (fuller_cameron) and for Bound for Nowhere: Instagram and Facebook.