| Winner | KFC New Zealand |
| Marketing initiative | The Colonel’s hacks |
| Marketing partners | Special PR, Stanley Street, PHD |
| Finalists | DoorDash, Pak’nSave (two initiatives), Pizza Hut, Spark New Zealand, Wendy’s NZ, Woolworths New Zealand |
| Judges’ comments | “An outstanding campaign: bold, brave, innovative and integrated. From defining a clear challenging business problem to responding with a well thought-through integrated campaign leading to impressive business results – they sold out of chicken!” |
‘Hacks’ deliver the punters
Faced with tough competition and a cost of living crisis, KFC took a new approach to tackling a regular seasonal slump: instead of out-discounting rivals, it would out-interrupt them.
KFC is widely recognised as the quick-service restaurant with the best-tasting chicken, but value perception was a growing challenge.
The issue was most acute in Q4 each year, when KFC repeatedly experienced a seasonal downturn in sales. Competitive pressure conditioned consumers to expect aggressive value messaging at this time.
By 2025, the situation worsened. A cost of living crisis slowed category growth and intensified consumer price sensitivity, pushing KFC’s weekly sales into decline.
The business faced a clear challenge: reverse the predictable end-of-year slump and restore momentum at the most commercially critical time of year.
To succeed, KFC needed to fundamentally change how value was perceived – moving beyond discounts to create a larger cultural moment that could disrupt consumer habits and re-establish KFC as a compelling value choice.
The idea was ‘The Colonel’s hacks’.
It saw Colonel Sanders reinvented as a masked alter ego with a mischievous voice. He infiltrated the system – hacking the menu, through exaggerated value offers, and then the media itself.
Through a series of unexpected value-led interruptions across screens, platforms and search behaviour, the Colonel inserted KFC into moments typically dominated by competitors.
Hacking for attention
First they ‘hacked’ their biggest rival’s menu – move over the Big Mac, and say hello to the KFC version, The Big Hack.
KFC launched $2 Wicked Wings, and ‘hacked’ the trailers of hit movie Wicked, as well as cricket games at Eden Park, with large-format screen takeovers where the Colonel dropped additional value deals.
The Colonel then “hacked” the media ecosystem. Large-format digital screens nationwide were monopolised for 90 minutes at a time, while TVNZ+ greeted viewers with glitchy takeover messages.
The Colonel Hacker appeared where he shouldn’t be, hijacking trusted screens, cultural moments and even competitor Google searches.
KFC’s sell-out Halloween costume saw fans dress as ‘The Colonel Hacker’ for special tricks and treats.
The campaign saw KFC’s brand consideration rocket from Q3 to Q4, while its value perception jumped up 10 points from the beginning of the campaign. Meanwhile, ‘buzz’ scores also saw a healthy leap.
Most importantly, it delivered a return to sales growth, reversing the YTD trend of decline to an increase overall, achieving unheard of demand and double-digit growth over key moments.
This story comes from NZ Marketing magazine issue 88, Sept-Nov 2026. Why not subscribe? Get four issues a year for just $50 (including delivery) if you autorenew.
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