Mother takes “finger lickin” very literally for slightly gross new KFC ad

The 60-second TV spot provides an uncomfortably intimate portrait of chicken fans’ finger-licking habits.

Date
24 February 2020

Share

Mother has created a new TV ad for KFC that solely focuses on chicken connoisseurs licking their fingers after their meal. Riffing on the fast-food restaurant’s slogan "Finger Lickin’ Good”, the 60-second spot and accompanying out of home poster campaign shows diners making sure every last morsel of the Original Recipe enters their mouths, which Mother dubs the “deeply satisfying moment” of the “post-KFC finger lick”.

The brief from KFC was to evoke its iconic taste, explains Mother creative director Lucas Reis. “We chose to show instead of saying what it tastes like. 'It’s Finger Lickin’ Good' is one of the most iconic lines in the history of advertising. It comes from an observation of both a human and a product truth – it is part of the KFC taste,” says Reis. “There is something naturalistic and evocative about licking your fingers while having a meal.”

At points creepy and at others quite sexy, the spot is unlike anything we’ve seen before. Mother has used close head-and-shoulders crops to give viewers a ring-side seat for what is usually quite an intimate moment. Elegant piano music tinkles in the background, and there’s even some slow-mo shots to show the chicken fans really savouring the experience, adding both humour and cringe value.

“The stylistic approach was observational, so we went for a candid camera look on both still images and film,” Reis tells us. “That means longer lenses and tighter crops. In terms of lighting, we thought it was important to achieve a naturalistic look borrowed from street photography. Slow-motion and speed ramps created pace and drama and helps to sync the actions with the track in a more abstract and sensorial layer.”

It turns out 60 seconds is quite a long time to spectate people licking their fingers, making for an uncomfortable but totally brilliant watching experience. Let’s just hope they washed their hands first. Watch it below.

GalleryMother London: KFC advert and billboard campaign

Hero Header

Mother London: KFC advert

Share Article

About the Author

Laura Snoad

Laura is a London-based arts journalist who has been working for It’s Nice That on a freelance basis since 2016.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.