Why Did KFC Cross the Road? (Because PR Was On The Other Side)

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When KFC crowed on October 30, 2006, that it was planning to ban transfats in its U.S. fried chicken, the company had a PR machine behind it ready to score a news hit in one of the nation's fast food capitals, New York City. In a regimented plan that would have made Colonel Sanders proud, the company "lin[ed] up primary print and broadcast coverage in advance ...with assistance from Ogilvy [9] PR's Washington Office." The announcement put the chain's name in headlines (a "major victory," [10] declared the New York Times) alongside the city's Board of Health, which was convening a highly publicized hearing [11] to build support for a ban on transfats, which have been linked to even higher heart disease risk than saturated fats. KFC's senior director of PR declared that the New York announcement was a chance to "strategically place our brand within the news." The restaurant chain, owned by YUM! Brands, might also have been exploiting a weakness in its competitors. McDonald's [12] announced in 2002 that it was eliminating transfats, but that pledge soon melted like margarine on a hot pan. Among major U.S. fast food chains, Wendy's claims that it has eliminated transfats (though it continues to sell 770 calorie monster burgers [13], such as the "half-pound bacon cheddar double melt.")