KFC's Colonel Sanders Is Punching Out Lawyers Now

Never tell him you can't trademark flavor

Perdue once famously said: “It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken.”

But these days, it takes an enraged, assaultive Colonel Sanders to prep KFC’s wings and thighs.

In the mockumentary spot below, during a trial scene, a smarmy attorney whines, “You can’t trademark flavor.”

Naturally, the Colonel decks the guy.

To be fair, the beloved (now fearsome!) spokescharacter has been getting angrier for years. Potty-mouthed and pumped up like Rambo, it was just a matter of time until KFC took the bearded-one’s intensity to its logical conclusion.

This feisty approach seeks to put Sanders back in the cultural convo and help KFC jumpstart sales, which have declined of late.

Highdive created the campaign. It falls under an umbrella theme: “The Colonel Lived So We Could Chicken.”

I’d pan that particular slogan—lazy, says nothing—but Sanders would probably drop by and kick my ass.

Overall, the work—co-starring Matty Matheson from The Bear—feels like something a bit different. If nothing else, it’s in sync with our obsessive, oft-aggressive times. But is that really such a good thing?

Past iterations of Sanders seemed cartoonishly aggrieved. For some viewers, this version—though clearly tongue-in-cheek—might appear too quick to pop off or get physical with those who stand in his way.

We see such antics on the news and in our feeds 24/7. Perhaps folks won’t appreciate more. Or else they’ll be numb to it. That could mae the potential novelty and shock value fall flat.

There’s grumpy signage and defiant design elements, too: