Ke? F See?

KFC are re-branding their chicken didn't ya know?

Is it a case of finally admitting they are still incorrect on the name of their product, is it a Saatchi refresher campaign, are numbers down?.

No. Their chickens now come from Inghams who have a history of feeding their chickens GE chicken feed. Greenpeace, bless em, have offered to help the rebranding. Jason Gallagher has great perspective when it comes to branding, if you want his help.

Chicken is a tricky thing to brand in NZ, even eggs. Most people think that the dozen eggs they buy are free range - when they've in fact been mislead by the label "Farm Fresh" or similar. A couple of weeks back, there was a TV feature on this (although where I saw it, slips my memory) and the "sad fact' as one free range farmer put it, is that we have the farmland and capacity to farm eggs naturally, but. we. just. don't.

It all comes down to $$$ and pushing through as much product as possible, disregarding the wellbeing of the chicken. These chooks never see the light of day. It's disgusting and always shocks any New Zealander when told the sad story.

It reminds me of a Havoc & Newsboy investigation a few years back, where they sneaked into a battery farm in the middle of the night. It made me sick to think that these animals are subjected to such poor conditions, just to have their necks broken at the end of the calendar month, sent to KFC for greasing and heating, and us to eat. Again, it's disgusting and always shocks any New Zealander when told the sad story.

Over the years I've picked up bits of rumour here and there about KFC. When they shortened their name to the KFC abbreviation a few years back, I heard it was because they couldn't technically call it Kentucky Fried "Chicken" as a complaint was held up on what consititutes a chicken, and that KFC were not selling chickens. Originally, Colonel Sanders did sell chickens door to door in Kentucky, but never were they fried in Kentucky for New Zealand consumption. So, instead of rebranding to Kentucky Fried Something That Looks Like Chicken, But Actually Isn't, they opted for KFC - a familiar acronym.

So, Kiwi for Chicken? I don't think so KFC. Dream on.

Pressure leads to change. A small victory comes to the people of Otahuhu and a handful of other areas that have a high Indian population. Why? The people demand Halal Chicken, because it's against their religion to eat the pulp that KFC serve out daily. They can only eat naturally farmed chickens. So KFC Otahuhu serves it on Sundays.