This year, the biggest fried chicken chain in the world, Kentucky Fried Chicken, has been making an attempt to bring back their "mascot," which is to say the fictionalized version of its founder, Colonel Sanders KFC, and so far there have been two actors two play the role - and there's a new one in town for the season.
"Saturday Night Live" alum Darrel Hammond was the first Colonel Sanders KFC actor this year, but after his performance as the iconic businessman didn't suit well with audiences, another "SNL" star from roughly the same time, Norm MacDonald, was brought in - and just a few months later, it's now the turn for Jimmy Johnson.
According to AdAge, Johnson's portrayal of Colonel Sanders KFC comes as part of the football season, in the middle of a new partnership between the fried chicken chain and Fox Sports.
The brand activation team at Fox Sports came up with the idea to have a third Colonel Sanders from KFC only dedicated to the football season, after the two first ones from 2015 (namely "fake" colonel Hammond and "real" one MacDonald) made headlines earlier this year.
As Creativity-Online reports, the new Colonel Sanders KFC ad starring Johnson features the broadcasting star and former coach prepping up for his shown, including putting on the Colonel's iconic white suit as well as lots of hairspray, with a lot of "attention to detail" - and the first spot aired on November 15 and there will be new spots on each of the next seven weeks of the football season.
These days, as ad-free streaming becomes more popular, companies have had to think of innovative ways to place their products, which is what prompted the Fox-KFC partnership in the first place, even if people do tend to watch sports live and fans will usually prefer the warm-up shows as well.
Check out the new Colonel Sanders KFC ad below!