KFC wants folks to watch its backside.
Or, more precisely, the backsides of female college students it’s recruiting to promote its hot new bunless Double Down sandwiches.
According to USA Today, women on college campuses are being paid $500 each to hand out coupons while wearing fitted sweatpants with “Double Down” in large letters across their rear ends.
The promo comes as KFC is in the doldrums domestically. The world’s largest chicken chain’s U.S. same-store sales fell 7% in the second quarter. Nearly all its growth now is in international expansion.
Now, it’s turning to cute women parading around campus with “Double Down” emblazoned across their fannies.
The nation’s largest women’s group doesn’t like it one bit. “It’s so obnoxious to once again be using women’s bodies to sell fundamentally unhealthy products,” says Terry O’Neill, president of the National Organization for Women. What’s more, she says, KFC has forgotten something important: Women make more than half the decisions about what to eat for dinner.
But KFC marketing chief John Cywinski says it’s an effective way to catch the attention of young men – KFC’s key customers and the biggest fans of Double Down.
Photo by Businesss Wire.