Invented by Founder Colonel Harland Sanders and perfected in 1940 after years of experimentation, KFC’s secret fried chicken recipe blends the iconic 11 herbs and spices enjoyed around the world every day. But during the holidays, when turkey dominates the dinner table, keeping KFC’s legendary chicken top-of-mind for consumers during this busy season filled with sensory overload is no easy feat.

So, we decided to entice them with something hungry holiday stomachs would not be able to ignore, to infiltrate homes and provoke cravings for our chicken. We channeled the Colonel’s inventive spirit and went straight for the hearth, the communal gathering place for all holiday season festivities. We created the first-ever chicken-scented firelog based on Harland’s 80-year-old recipe.

Imbued with the unmistakable, mouth-watering aroma of Colonel Sanders’ secret recipe, the KFC 11 Herbs and Spices Firelog finally puts to rest the age-old dilemma: “How can I make this fire a hundred bajillion times better?” The one-of-a-kind firelog from Enviro-Log, a leading manufacturer of firelogs made of 100 percent recycled materials, is the result of countless hours of research and development, all done over the months leading up to the release of the Firelog. The log was sold direct-to-consumers, and we released it about two weeks before the Christmas holiday, giving customers ample time to stock up and fill their sheds with firewood for the impending winter season, or so we thought…

The idea spread like, well, fire, earning coverage everywhere, from Jimmy Kimmel and CNBC to BuzzFeed and Cosmopolitan. The logs, which retailed for $18.99, sold out in just three hours, and were later re-selling on eBay for as much as $250. In the end, KFC Firelogs generated more than 1,180 broadcast segments, 1,892 media articles, 4,580 posts across social media platforms, 1.5 billion media impressions and $20 million in media.

The Impact

  • 1,180 broadcast segments
  • 1,892 media articles
  • 4,580 social posts
  • 1.5 billion earned impressions
  • $20 million in media
  • The firelog sold out just three hours after being released