091: How KFC Trained America to Remember Their Ads

Hello, you lovely Creatives!

Welcome to Volume 9️⃣1️⃣ of Creative Cuts 🔪 - your weekly dose of creative strategy from your friends at Creative OS.

And today on the cutting board…

Let’s talk about one of the most powerful assets a brand can own… and why most eCom operators ignore it.

It’s not budget.

Or media.

Or influencers.

It’s memory.

KFC has spent decades building an asset that compounds over time:

A creative system rooted in recall.

That’s the real magic behind “Finger Lickin’ Good.”

Let’s break it down…

KFC’s masterstroke: weaponizing creative repetition

KFC’s advertising was never random. It was ritual.

From the moment Colonel Sanders appeared on packaging in the 1950s, he became the brand’s living logo. The string tie, the goatee, the white suit - every element was codified early and reused endlessly.

By the 1960s, KFC had committed to what we now call brand grammar:

• Repeating the same slogan (“It’s Finger Lickin’ Good”) across decades

• Using Sanders’ face as an emotional anchor in every ad

• Adopting a color system (red-and-white stripes) that made drive-thru signs unforgettable

In 1967, you could watch a KFC commercial where a picnic is magically catered by the Colonel himself. Fast-forward to 2017, and a new generation saw the Colonel launch a chicken sandwich into space.

Same character. Same cadence. Different execution.

Why brands keep missing this

Most DTC creative teams are stuck on novelty mode.

They chase freshness over familiarity. New edits. New hooks. New colors. Every quarter is treated like a reset.

The result?

Nobody remembers what you look like. And nobody feels anything consistent when they see your ads.

Repetition isn’t lazy. It’s how memory works.

What KFC did that you can do this quarter

Here’s how to operationalize a memory-first creative system:

1 - Codify a visual spine
KFC didn’t let franchises freestyle. Red-and-white mansard roofs. Bucket signage. Uniform packaging. Start with your color, layout, and framing rules - and enforce them.

2 - Design for emotional recall
KFC’s imagery wasn’t just product-forward. It evoked Sunday dinners, road trips, family picnics. Map your emotional goals like they mapped theirs: comfort, nostalgia, togetherness.

3 - Turn slogans into symbols
“Finger Lickin’ Good” wasn’t just a tagline - it was an experiential truth. Reinforce your messaging until it feels like folklore.

4 - Structure your ads like episodes
KFC’s ads in the ‘60s and ‘70s weren’t isolated stunts. They were recurring scenes in a larger story. Build your ads like chapters in a consistent series - not one-offs.

5 - Build internal continuity
By the ‘80s, KFC had shifted to “We Do Chicken Right,” focusing on quality and confidence - but the Colonel stayed on. Evolve the messaging, not the soul.

The ROI of recognition

By 1991, KFC felt confident enough to shorten its name. But the Colonel’s face stayed in the logo. The red bucket stayed in the stores. The consistency did the heavy lifting.

When they brought back a rotating cast of Colonel actors in 2015 - Norm Macdonald, Reba McEntire, George Hamilton - it didn’t dilute the message. It amplified it.

Every ad became an inside joke, a cultural callback, or a memory machine.

That’s what creative systems do. They earn you trust, attention, and conversion by reducing friction and deepening familiarity.

This week’s creative playbook:

Open your Meta ad account. Look at the last 20 creatives.

• Do they feel like scenes from the same movie?
• Is there one consistent voice, tone, or aesthetic?
• Could a stranger identify your brand without reading the logo?

If not, you’re not compounding.

You’re resetting. Every time.

Start building the system that builds recall. Because when your creative is this repeatable, it doesn’t get ignored.

It gets remembered.

Until next time,

Chase

That’s all! If you’re looking to find inspiration or get the best ad templates out there, come hang out with us at Creative OS and tell your friends!