KFC crows about animal welfare record by dropping the 'c-bomb' live on TV

KFC is celebrating its commitment to the welfare of the birds used in its food in its latest UK ad.

A 30-second spot created by Mother features a KFC bucket summoning a press conference to crow about its recent accolade as the only business to be awarded top tier status in World Animal Protection’s (WAP) Pecking Order 2021 report.

According to the league table, which ranks fast-food restaurants globally and locally on their commitment, ambition and transparency around the welfare of chickens in their supply chain, KFC is leading the way in the welfare of the birds raised for their meat.

In the UK, KFC was the only brand to achieve “leading” status with an overall score of 92%, followed by Nando’s on 78% and a score of “good”. Starbucks and Subway were ranked the worst with 0% – “very poor” – as they have failed to commit to improving chicken welfare standards in the UK.

WAP said KFC’s work with the Better Chicken Commitment (BCC) – a set of standards for birds’ welfare – and its reporting on its performance against its own standards set it apart from other retailers.

Jack Hinchliffe, marketing director of KFC UK & Ireland, said: “Chicken welfare is incredibly important to us. We’ve been on a journey over the last few years to raise standards and drive transparency – but we know we haven’t done a good enough job actually talking about chickens and their welfare head on. That’s going to change.

“In this campaign, we’re leaning into the very fact that we’ve not previously been as visible on welfare as we could’ve been. We want to send a clear signal that we’ve stopped skirting around the issue.”

The campaign was created and produced by Mother with media planning and buying by Mindshare.

James Ross-Edwards, creative director at Mother, said: “KFC's commitment to chicken welfare is a big deal, so we wanted to make sure it got the attention it deserves. Plus, what an honour to be dropping the C-Bomb on national TV.”

The ad, which broke on 23 July on Channel 4, follows the recent launch of Behind the Bucket – a new platform that brings all of KFC’s wider social responsibility commitments together