Cannes Lions

The Hall of Colonels

WIEDEN+KENNEDY, Portland / KFC / 2016

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Overview

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Overview

Description

Our creative idea was to reintroduce America to the greatest chicken salesman the world has ever seen—Colonel Sanders. We would share his story, his feisty personality, and the secret recipe that made him famous. So we created The Hall of Colonels, a virtual, interactive shrine to the storied life and legacy of Colonel Sanders.

Execution

We created a mobile-friendly, interactive destination, The Hall of Colonels, at ColonelSanders.com. The Hall of Colonels features six animatronic Colonels, representing six different chapters in the Colonel’s amazing life story, as told through various interactive experiences. The first, a young Colonel Sanders, takes the user through a slideshow of interactive paintings illustrating the Colonel’s early years. The second contains a theatrical reenactment of Colonel Sanders in his gas station gunfight. Another Colonel sings a mandolin song of the Colonel’s various failed occupations. The fourth tells users about the hard work that goes into making his secret-recipe chicken. The fifth Colonel houses Colonel Quest, an 8-bit video game that celebrates the Colonel’s many adventures and occupations—from delivering babies (true story) to fighting his own clients in court. And the final Colonel is a tribute to his lasting legacy: a Kentucky Fried Chicken store-location finder.

Outcome

Since launching in May 2015, the site has had over 950,000 visits, with new visitors coming every day. Overall, users have spent a combined seven years on the site, and are playing Colonel Quest for an average of 5.5 minutes. As a result, the site is now the #1 ranked organic search result for “Colonel Sanders.” Not too bad for a 125-year-old man’s website.

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