Norm Macdonald IS Colonel Sanders in the Summer's New Chicken Blockbuster
There’s a new Col. Sanders for Kentucky Fried Chicken, and it’s Norm Macdonald, stepping into the iconic white suit and subtly altering his Canadian vowels to approximate a Southern twang in a series of quietly hilarious new ads.
Macdonald is the second “new” Sanders introduced recently — his former SNL colleague Darrell Hammond wore the suit until now. The Macdonald-fronted campaign is clearly intended to go viral and make the company look semi-cool: You can tell by the wink-wink, nudge-nudge, I’m-down-with-the-meta comment from Kevin Hochman, chief marketing officer, who told AdWeek, “Other than not quite looking like him, his voice being different and his inability to cook the world’s best chicken, we thought Norm was the perfect choice to play the Real Colonel.”
Save the wryness for Macdonald, Kevin. The comedian strikes the right tone, portraying the Sanders as a harried executive who nevertheless takes the time to plug new deals such as the “$5 Fill-Up Meal” and the carbo-cornucopia “Family Fill-Up for $20.” Shall I pause here and say KFC has already won its new PR initiative if it’s getting me to write about their fried chicken?
Macdonald’s puckish sense of humor comes through in such meticulous throwaway lines as “You’re a parent, I’m a colonel, we’re both busy people,” and “Hey, young people, after a long day of spontaneous road trips and break dancing, well, you get hungry.”
Macdonald is replacing Hammond after a mere few months… or is he? I sense the possibility of a prank here, a possible feint, a put-on, a potential clash of the white suits and white facial hair, some time in the future.
In any case, KFC taking on Macdonald is a smart move. Norm is hip to the social media — his half-million-plus-followers @normmacdonald Twitter feed ranges from hole-by-hole golf-tournament coverage to, currently, some fascinating ruminations on the art of stand-up comedy and his current stint as a judge on Last Comic Standing. (Sample apercu: “I find it odd so many comics on #LCS are so obdurate when faced with the mildest of criticism.”) He cannot bring KFC anything but mind-tickling, finger-licking good comedy.
