KFC changes tempo but remains unpredictable

A heartfelt guitar rendition of a Cranberries song wasn’t what we expected from KFC after its surreal run of late, yet here we are.

‘Surrender to Tender’ by Mother London is directed by Jonathan Alric and made via production company Iconoclast. It’s quite the contrast from KFC’s bizarre ‘Believe’ trilogy, which portrayed chicken fandom as a surreal cult.

‘Surrender to Tender’ still plays on expectations for the unexpected. 

Instead, it’s actually played fairly straight, and features a gentle cover of The Cranberries' Linger by YouTube musician Frank Watkinson. And, yeah, that's it. Just a man, a guitar and a red curtain.

The film was reportedly shot in a single take and feels like an anti-advert: the product barely appears, and instead we’re left to dwell on the dual meaning of 'tenderness'.

You could argue that the blood red drape adds a sense of tension, but overall the ad works because Mother continues its confidence to refuse category conventions.

Mother executive creative directors Derek Man Lui and Tomas Coleman said: "Tenderness isn't weakness. It's the bravest thing we can offer ourselves in an increasingly hard world."

By (chicken) stripping everything away, KFC has created something culturally distinctive amid all the World Cup and political noise that lingers positively with its audience.

Credits

Brand: KFC UK&I
Agency: Mother
Production Company: Iconoclast
Director: Jonathan Alric
Music Performance: Frank Watkinson
Colour: Simone Grattarola
Sound: King Lear