The introduction of the Extra Crispy Colonel, George Hamilton, who is known for his infamous tan, also coincided with the summer season, which presented the perfect opportunity to extend the idea of the Extra Crispy lifestyle. So to keep the conversation going, we created the ultimate compliment to the Extra Crispy lifestyle—KFC Extra Crispy Sunscreen—a real SPF30 sunscreen that smells like fried chicken that we gave away…for free. We launched the sunscreen with an infomercial-style video that ran on social media, directing users to a microsite where they could order the sunscreen for themselves. The idea quickly began trending in social media and earned media outlets, eventually creating a cultural phenomenon.

Within eight weeks, we brought together a scented oil manufacturer, sunscreen manufacturer and other vendors to develop, package and distribute FDA-compliant bottles of fried chicken-scented sunscreen. We created compelling visual assets to share across social channels, ultimately extending our reach to a global audience. Assets included product photos, an “infomercial-like” video and a microsite, (www.ExtraCrispySunscreen.com) where consumers could request to receive a free bottle while supplies lasted.

We hit media at all angles, relying on the shareability and social-driven focus of the outlet to create a reverberating wave of media coverage from a wide range of beats.

• We followed with a press release with photos and a link to a sunscreen “infomercial” in an online media kit.

• We surprised reporters with in-person Labor Day weekend “care package” deliveries, resulting in another layer of social conversation on journalists’ personal channels.

Demand was high: more than 6,000 bottles sold out in just two hours on launch day, and bottles even garnered bids of more than $300 on eBay. Time.com kicked off the talk cycle, resulting in wide-ranging coverage: The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Conan, FOX Business News, USA Today, Early Today, The Weather Channel, Travel + Leisure, Cosmopolitan Magazine.

To repeat the success of day one and drive media coverage of the sponsored Snapchat Lens launching the following weekend, we executed a second giveaway of 3,600 bottles, resulting in an additional wave of coverage and increased conversation about Extra Crispy Chicken.

When the sun set at the end of the week, KFC had given away 9,600 bottles of sunscreen, earned more than 2.3 billion impressions and started so many conversations on launch day that the Time.com article became the #1 trending story on Google.

While KFC does not disclose promotional sales figures, they reported that sales for Extra Crispy exceeded KFC’s forecast. As of September 2016, KFC experienced nine consecutive quarters of growth – trending well above the industry, which had been on a downward trajectory during the same time.

Overall the campaign garnered:

• 2.3 Billion+ Media Impressions (KPI was 350 Million) over the course of two weeks

• 29,000+ Pieces of Coverage

• 27,000+ Social Posts