KFC puts cardboard under pressure in new Boxfull campaign

KFC Australia is having a moment. Just days after launching its new Go Full Chicken brand platform, the QSR is back with another campaign, this time pushing cardboard to its apparent chicken-holding limits.

Created by Special, the new work promotes KFC’s Boxfull value range through a fictional Secret KFC Box Lab, where a team of box technicians is tasked with solving one of the brand’s most pressing problems: how to build a box capable of containing far too much chicken.

The campaign is led by a series of films narrated by the lab’s fastidious head box technologist, Ingvar, whose surname has been redacted.

In the films, Ingvar and his team carry out experiments in pursuit of what KFC describes as the perfect box, one able to withstand the pressure of “maximum chicken” and deliver value without collapsing under the weight of poultry abundance.

The work follows KFC’s recent Go Full Chicken brand relaunch, which is built around the idea that great chicken comes from an obsessive commitment to doing things properly.

In this case, that philosophy has been extended to value, with the brand treating box construction as a matter of high-stakes engineering.

Vanessa Rowed, chief marketing officer at KFC SOPAC, said the campaign brings the new brand platform to life through entertainment rather than straightforward value messaging.

“The new Boxfull range delivers fan favourites at incredible value, and this campaign brings our Go Full Chicken philosophy to life in a way that’s entertaining, unexpected and unmistakably KFC,” Rowed said.

“Because great value advertising doesn’t have to shout the loudest, it just has to give people something worth watching.”

Special chief creative officers Tom Martin and Julian Schreiber said the campaign was built around the overlooked role of the cardboard box in delivering value.

“Everyone knows KFC is famous for its value packed delicious chicken meals. But nobody ever talks about the plight of the weak, cardboard box,” they said.

“Is it up to the task of carrying this much chicken? Will it hold? What is maximum chicken capacity? All questions the new KFC Boxfull range now raises.”

The campaign launched last week and is rolling out across television, digital, social, influencer, radio and outdoor media.

The work was created by Special, with production by The Sweet Shop, post production by ARC Sydney, audio by Studio Tonic and media handled by EssenceMediacom Australia.