“I think George Hamilton, as the new Colonel behind Extra Crispy is brilliant and that is having a positive impact on our sales momentum at KFC in the U.S.”
— Yum CEO Greg Creed, in a second-quarter earnings teleconference with Wall Street analysts last week. The perpetually tanned Hamilton debuted a month ago as the latest in a series of KFC Founder Harland Sanders impersonators. Here’s one of the spots:
And it’s perpetually tanned George Hamilton, the fourth actor to play KFC founder Harland Sanders since the chain revived his character last year.
The new commercials start airing Sunday, KFC says in a press release. Jim Gaffigan, who followed Norm MacDonald and Darrell Hammond, will continue as Sanders in marketing for Original Recipe chicken.
The campaign by Wieden+Kennedy will include four spots — two at 30 seconds, and two at 15 seconds — all airing nationally. The ads feature Hamilton as the colonel with an exaggerated suntan to emphasize his “extra crispy” character.
“I like to think that I know a thing or two about being extra crispy,” Hamilton said in the press release. “One could argue that my entire career has been leading up to this role.”
This isn’t the first time Hamilton, 76, has agreed to do a self-mocking TV spot. In 2003, he promoted oven-toasted Ritz Chips and toasted Pita Thins.
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