KFC drops Icon mantra “Finger-Lickin’ Good”

KFC says it is halting its “Finger-Lickin’ Good” amid the coronavirus pandemic. “ We find ourselves in a unique situation- having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” the company said given the current hygiene advice.

It’s packing with the phrase obscured and said the phrase would return when the time was right.

KFC outlets closed temporarily in March, but most have now reopened.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 163 complaints about a KFC TV advert which featured people licking their fingers. The complainants considered the advert was irresponsible because they thought it encouraged behaviour that might increase the chances of Covid-19 spreading. The advert was withdrawn by KFC since. KFC which has 22, 500 outlets around the world, 900 in the UK, and Ireland was founded in the 1930s by Harland Saunders, opened its first franchise in the 1950s, and has used the Finger-Lickin’ Good slogan since then. Although it dropped the slogan in the late 1990s but brought it back in 2008. KFc is now owned by Yum! Brands, which also owns Pizza Hut.