KFC Canada has announced the arrival of crispy onion rings with a tearful spot by Courage.
The 30-second video, “Tears of Joy,” opens with operatic music and a scene of a chef crying while cutting fresh onions. Onions are well known for making people cry, but KFC wants customers to know that these are not regular onion tears. “Cue the tears…of joy” the super reads, as KFC customers are seen exuberantly enjoying the brand’s new onion rings with very wet cheeks.
The spots ends with a shot of all three new menu items: Crispy Onion Rings, the Crispy Onion Ring Sandwich, and the Crispy Onion Ring Twister wrap, before a customer is shown licking onion ring grease from his fingers, accompanied by the brand’s longstanding “It’s finger lickin’ good” tagline.
The launch was first teased by social media influencers in which they discovered a surprise onion ring in their order of KFC fries, and shared their reaction.
The full campaign includes social and digital, as well as OOH ads featuring images of emotional customers and the headline, “Who’s cutting onions?”
Since onion rings are an entirely new product for KFC, the work is intended to be a celebration of the long-awaited development.
“These truly aren’t your ordinary onion rings,” said KFC Canada marketing manager Laura Mallozzi in a release. “Crispy onion rings deliver a whole new flavour experience for our consumers, who are already accustomed to KFC's careful approach to creating that expertly seasoned, golden-fried bite. So, we wanted to take a moment to capture—and yes, have a little fun with—that first bite.”
“Onion rings make everything better. Combine them with the unmistakably bold taste of KFC and you’re talking about a next-level moment,” added Courage co-founder and CCO Joel Holtby. “We saw an opportunity to play into the natural joy of experiencing a new favourite food while giving Crispy Onions Rings the dramatic entrance they deserve.”
