KFC ad agency strikes again with "Mosquito tone" commercial

Even though its food tastes like crap, you have to give poultry kingpin KFC credit for thinking outside the, um, bucket when it comes to TV spots, using innovative commercials to lure unsuspecting folks into purchasing its slop. You probably remember the company's last high-profile ad which forced viewers to watch in slo-mo in order to get the password for a free sandwich, and now it's utilizing that supposedly "kids-only," high-pitched ringtone in an attempt to drum up interest in the new Boneless Variety Bucket. At some point during the ad for this family-friendly meal, the so-called "Mosquito" tone is played in the background (check it after the break; we could easily hear the obnoxious cacophony, although that may be due to the YouTube conversion process), and the first 1,000 kids who correctly guess where the sound was placed get $10 in KFC gift certificates (just enough to cover the $9.99 Variety Bucket, but tax is coming out of their allowances). With such a small number of prizes in play, it would seem that the home of finger-lickin' good chicken learned its lesson from the DVR ad, meaning that all of the coupons will probably be gone by the time the contest answer is leaked onto the internet. Still, no matter how many people win or lose, KFC is getting a whole lot of free advertising out of this promotion -- so watch the commercial or not, the Colonel always comes out on top.

Author Evan Blass
Publication Engadget
Date 11 April 2007
Link www.engadget.com