The boundaries between gastronomy and fashion continue to blur in the communication of large restaurant chains. Coinciding with a time of year marked by parades, presentations and new collections, Burger King and KFC have resorted to industry codes to present their latest menu innovations and transform such everyday foods, such as a nugget or a pickle, into objects of desire.
The two companies have put forward different proposals, but they start from a similar approach: using aesthetics, language and the dynamics of fashion to generate conversation around the product. Burger King does this by creating a limited edition accessory, while KFC Australia takes the idea further and builds an entire aesthetic universe around the love of pickles.
Burger King creates a mini nugget bag
Burger King has just renewed its chicken nuggets and sauces in the United States and wanted to take advantage of the fashion season to communicate the launch in an unexpected way. Together with Mojo Supermarket, the chain has created “Le Nugguette”, a mini bag specifically designed with the appearance of a nugget.
The accessory transfers the codes of luxury brands to the Burger King universe and accompanies the launch of its new nuggets. Each bag also includes one of four charms inspired by the available sauces: Honey Mustard, Buffalo, Sweet & Sour and the new Special Savory.
“Burger King and our new Chicken Nuggets are having their moment”explained Allison Smith, Vice President of Marketing Communications at Burger King US&C. According to him, the company was looking for “have fun and combine fashion and food during one of the great moments of the fashion calendar”thus amplifying the presentation of the product from an unusual territory for the category.
“Le Nugguette” not only works as an advertising element, but can also be purchased. Burger King will launch 100 units daily between September 12 and 16, at a price of $3.99, the same as an order of four nuggets. Each purchase includes the mini bag, one of the four charms and a code redeemable for a serving of four nuggets.
“Picklecore” presents the love of pickles as if it were a lifestyle
KFC transforms pickle obsession into “Picklecore”
For its part, KFC Australia has practically developed a complete aesthetic trend to present a temporary menu starring pickles. The campaign, developed by Special Australia, is titled “Picklecore” and presents the love for this ingredient as if it were a lifestyle.
The agency has taken as a reference aesthetic phenomena such as Gorpcore, which brought technical garments associated with hiking and outdoor activities to the territory of fashion. “If Gorpcore could transform functional mountain gear into a high-fashion aesthetic, our menu could do exactly the same with pickles.”explain Tom Martin and Julian Schreiber, Co-Chief Creative Officers and partners at Special.
Thus, KFC has created an imaginary made up of earrings, lipstick, sunglasses, pants, watches and even perfumes inspired by pickles. The campaign serves to present products such as Pickle Burger, Pickle Pepsi Max, Frickles – fried pickle chips – and Pickle Loaded Chips.
The aesthetic has also been transferred to outdoor advertising, social networks, audio and an audiovisual piece constructed as a fashion campaign accompanied by techno music. Additionally, one of KFC’s restaurants has undergone a complete transformation with neon green lighting, suspended pickle slices, murals and stools inspired by the product.
The action even represents a temporary alteration of one of KFC’s most recognizable assets: its characteristic red gives way to pickle green. From Special they consider that the recognition of the product and fried chicken allows the company to play with its visual codes without losing identity.
“Picklecore” is more than a menu launch; “It is an invitation to our fans and pickle-curious people to experience KFC in a whole new way.”explains Vanessa Rowed, CMO at KFC SOPAC. The person in charge points out that the initiative seeks to transform a gastronomic passion into a job capable of entertaining and generating commercial interest during a period that is especially relevant for the company.
With “Le Nugguette” and “Picklecore”, Burger King and KFC use fashion as an amplifier of product innovations. In both cases, food momentarily stops presenting itself solely as something to consume to adopt the codes of something that can also be collected and shared.
