Capcom’s Street Fighter 6 game allows players to design their own custom avatars and share “recipes” that replicate the looks of characters from TV, movies and other top video games. KFC Canada and agency Courage have used the gaming tool to design a particularly buff version of the brand’s famous mascot, Chef Colonel Sanders.
KFC is also offering real-life rewards to Street Fighter players who use the virtual model. It’s the latest example of a brand venturing into esports.
“Right now, every brand wants to get into the world of esports,” KFC Canada marketing director Azim Akhter said in a statement. “With the introduction of recipes to Street FIghter 6, we saw an opportunity to connect with gamers organically through our most iconic brand asset—and create a value exchange that’s authentic to the gameplay itself.”
A 45-second video shared across KFC Canada’s social media channels shows off the game’s recipe designer and the colonel in action as he pummels other fighters with his big crunch, boneless and bucket combo attacks. The posts include the code used to play the character and encourages players to record a video showing him executing a combo–for the chance to win a $50 KFC gift card to buy those combo meals in real life.
Strike while the iron is hot
As soon as Street Fighter 6 launched, “we knew this was an idea we had to jump on and fast,” Courage chief creative officer Dhaval Bhatt said in a statement. “Before it was even greenlit, we had already started designing the Colonel, unlocking his wardrobe and building the assets needed to make it campaign ready.”
KFC is no stranger to gaming promotions. The chain created a character for WWE 2K18 and released a KFC Chicken Champ skin for Fortnite in 2019.
“Great advertising pushes the boundaries of what an ad could be,” Courage chief strategy officer Tom Kenny added. “This is a great example of creating brand relevance by finding the intersection between an iconic brand and an iconic piece of popular culture.”
