KFC Guitar Hero 4 Meal Deal is a Marketing Winner

I got it wrong. Totally wrong.

I underestimated the power of branded cardboard boxes of fried chicken.

This morning, I said that Kentucky Fried Chicken's promotion with Guitar Hero 4 was laughably bad... and used JibJab's High School Musical viral campaign as an example of a great branded promotion.

I stand by the JibJab comment - but apparently I underestimated the power of the Guitar Hero 4 brand... because since that post, my blog has been flooded with traffic arriving from Google search queries like:

» kfc guitar hero box price » kfc guitar hero » kfc box guitar hero » KFC GUITAR HERO » guitar hero box kfc » how much is new kfc guitar... » how much is the kfc guitar...

While I stand by my argument that this is not great marketing - KFC clearly attached themselves to a great brand and product launch. And their commercials did a great job featuring the Guitar Hero brand... effectively driving traffic to KFC and in search of their new combo meal. Even more impressive - this traffic is from the 2nd - 5th results in Google (meaning that I only represent a fraction of the actual 'demand' / activity.

If JibJab / HSM3 do it Right, KFC / Guitar Hero 4 do it Wrong

I wrote about JibJab's terrific viral marketing alongside High School Musical 3 (which grossed $42m over the weekend) and said that web / social marketers should aspire to create such engaging, cleverly branded campaigns.

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The I caught a glimpse of Kentucky Fried Chicken's new Guitar Hero 4 campaign ... which is the exact opposite. The commercials, which run every five minutes on ESPN right now, feature a box of chicken, mashed potatoes and mac & cheese inside a Guitar Hero 4 box. Nothing more is mentioned about a promotion - but I don't get the sense that people will flock to KFC to eat out of a Guitar Hero cardboard box. Nor do I think that people already eating there will pay much attention to it either.

I am sure JibJab could whip something together that features users in concert atmospheres (how many people would jump to put themselves on The Boss or Guns 'N Roses?!)... wouldn't that be more exciting and effective?!

JibJab + High School Musical 3 = Perfect Viral Marketing

If you have kids - you probably took them to see Disney's High School Musical 3 last night...And if you have kids - they probably will put JibJab's new HSM3 widget on their MySpace pages.

This is what viral marketing should aspire to be: - customizable - engaging - fun and re-watchable

... and it clearly has a business model behind it! Furthermore - the branded experience is what makes the widget enjoyable and attractive. I have shown this to several people now and the reactions are instant laughter... followed by a rush to create their own video!

Well done JibJab!

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