Merry Christmas: in Japan they celebrate Christmas with KFC
Not everyone likes Christmas. And we get that. All those Christmas frustrations are completely relatable, that complicated Christmas etiquette, spending hours in the kitchen… Some people would rather grab something at McDonald’s or KFC. Christmas at KFC is even the ultimate Christmas experience in Japan.
Well, for some families, anyway. And by some, I mean approximately 3.6 million Japanese people who visit KFC during Christmas every year. Hoooly shit, that’s a lot of people. But why KFC specifically?
Christmas at KFC: brilliant marketing
The fact that chicken has become a Japanese Christmas tradition is entirely thanks to KFC. Simply a brilliant piece of marketing; in 1974, they launched a campaign with the slogan Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, or Kentucky for Christmas. And saying that campaign was a success is quite an understatement.
According to marketing professor Joonas Rokka, this is because KFC managed to fill a void, a gap in the market. Japan didn’t have any Christmas traditions at all yet. Zero. Nada. So when this campaign kicked off, people started making plans for Christmas—and that’s how traditions were born.
Whole roasted chicken
That doesn’t mean it’s just buckets flying off the counter, though. Especially for Christmas, they also sell other, somewhat ‘more luxurious’ menus. With a whole roasted chicken, for example. And complete ‘Christmas dinner packages.’ It may not sound very Christmassy, but hey: for anyone who doesn’t feel like dealing with all those Christmas obligations, ordering something from KFC might be an idea?
Also read:
- Challenge: man eats a KFC meal every day for 100 days
- How to make KFC-style crispy chicken
- KFC changes its slogan: isn’t this a bit excessive?
