media update’s Aisling McCarthy chatted to KFC Africa’s CMO, Mike Middleton, about this innovative campaign.

Where did the idea behind the new ‘KFC Suppertime Stories’ campaign come from?

The KFC bucket has always been about sharing and bringing people together. The brief was to find an innovative idea that could help families connect with each other, and our food, in a new and meaningful way.

This campaign aims at bringing families together. Why is this an important message for KFC to send out?

Our brand is rooted in the notion of facilitating togetherness. So we wanted to use an idea that would bring families together and create an experience for them during their evening dinner.

Why did you decide to pair this campaign with the African stories you chose? Do you feel the message behind them is an important one?

There is a rich, fertile legacy of folklore and storytelling in South Africa. Folktales, myths, and metaphors have long served as a means to teach families valuable life lessons and get the whole family together.

We focused on story themes that aim to strengthen family bonds but are also aligned to the KFC brand and our passion for sharing.

In the tale of “Why Hippo Doesn’t Eat Fish”, we focus on the benefit and power of kindness and collaboration. Being kind to one another and finding creative ways to negotiate and work together as a family is very important. It is also something to take into friendships and work environments.

In the tale of “Why Mosquito Buzzes in People’s Ears”, we focus on the idea of dreaming big, working hard, and staying humble. In a world where social media reigns, safeguarding against fame hunger and attention mongering is an important lesson for the now.

In the tale of “Thunder and Lightning”, we focus on disagreements, temper management, and resolution. Ultimately landing the thought that, although we are all different, we all want to live in peace together. These notions are very important in strengthening communication within the family unit.

Where did the idea for this innovative pairing of the KFC bucket and app technology originate?

The iconic KFC bucket is our brand’s flagship product and sharing has always been at the heart of its reason for being. With this in mind, we were looking for an innovative idea that could help families connect with each other, and our food, in a new and meaningful way.

The KFC bucket predominately appeals to families in South Africa. We knew that sharing stories was a powerful way to bring families together and brainstormed around interesting ways of doing that.

Amongst the aforementioned audience, smartphone penetration is high. We wanted to connect this technology with our flagship product and use the combination to reach a new generation of families; reminding them of how special a shared dinner is in a modern way.

We wanted to leverage modern technology, but keep it simple enough that anyone could engage with and use it. After pinning down our strategy, we drew inspiration from the iconic shape of the bucket.

We played around with the packaging and realised that, when turned upside down, it had the potential to become a natural light box, which had the ability to illuminate and project amazing shapes when a smartphone torch was placed inside. Linking audio stories to the torch light function was the next natural step in our thinking process.

Once we had the concept bedded down, we collaborated with smart digital minds and designers and prototyped many designs, until we had the perfect tech and packaging combination… and the rest is history.

For more information on this campaign, watch the promotional video.

Interested in another interesting KFC campaign? Read more in our article, How interactivity can shake up mobile advertising in South Africa.