KFC ditches 'Finger Lickin' Good' slogan after 64 years because of coronavirus

Ross McGuinness
Updated ·2 min read

KFC has stopped using its “Finger Lickin’ Good” slogan because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The chicken restaurant chain said it was pausing the use of the phrase after 64 years because its message “doesn’t quite fit” following the COVID-19 outbreak.

The company has released new images of advertising posters and packaging with the well-known slogan blurred and pixelated.

QUIZ: Can you match the brand to its famous slogan?

It said the slogan will return “when the time is right” but that it will shift its messaging in the meantime.

The restaurant chain closed its sites temporarily in March as a result of the pandemic but has now reopened the majority of its restaurants with more stringent health and safety policies in place.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2020/05/28: KFC logo seen at one of their branches. UK Government has announced that a number of non-essential retail enterprises such as Outdoor markets, car showrooms can reopen from June 1st and June 15th other shops, department stores will also open and shopping centres, restaurants and bars will still remain shut. (Photo by Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
KFC is dropping its famous slogan because of coronavirus. (Getty)

“We find ourselves in a unique situation – having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, global chief marketing officer at KFC.

“While we are pausing the use of ‘It’s Finger Lickin’ Good’, rest assured the food craved by so many people around the world isn’t changing one bit.”

A customer sits next to a Colonel Sanders' character mounted at a table as a way of maintaining the social distance, a precaution against the spread of coronavirus (covid-19) at KFC. (Photo by Jovan Triniti / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)
Social distancing measures in place at a KFC in South Jakarta, Indonesia. (PA)
Chinese paramilitary policemen wearing masks to curb the spread of the new coronavirus stand guard near a logo for KFC before the opening session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) is to be held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Thursday, May 21, 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Chinese police in face masks stand outside a KFC in Beijing. (AP Photo)

The chain has more than 900 restaurants across the UK and Ireland and employs 27,000 staff.

Kate Wall, head of advertising at KFC UK and Ireland, said: “People often say that it’s the second movie that’s hardest to get right. The follow-up, the next step. And we are facing the same conundrum at the moment.

“How do you follow a slogan that’s lasted for 64 years and is as iconic as ours?

“Well, we know we can do it with a little help from our friends. And you’ll be hearing more from us on this soon.”

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