Put those filthy hands away, Kentucky Fried Chicken doesn't want you licking them anymore. Headquartered in Louisville and operated by Yum! Brands, KFC recently made the decision to pull its iconic slogan due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The "It's Finger Lickin' Good" slogan has been around for 64 years, however, due to the unique situation and current environment regarding cleanliness and the coronavirus pandemic, the fast food company has decided to remove the tagline from its packaging and marketing items until further notice.
"We find ourselves in a unique situation—having an iconic slogan that doesn't quite fit in the current environment. While we are pausing the use of It's Finger Lickin' Good, rest assured the food craved by so many people around the world isn't changing one bit." said Catherine Tan-Gillespie, global chief marketing officer at KFC.
The fast food chain isn't one to stray from funny and witty marketing, so in a tongue-in-cheek way, KFC shared the news of putting the 64-year-old slogan to bed with the headline: "And the winner of the award for the most inappropriate slogan for 2020 goes to...KFC"
So KFC wont use their "finger lickin' good" slogan? I promise, I wasn't going to lick anyone else's fingers!
— Lori Casto (@LoriCasto5) August 25, 2020
According to the NY Post, the brand suffered a 21 percent drop in same-store sales from April through June due to the coronavirus pandemic. Many stores temporarily closed in April to June to help slow the spread of the virus, however most locations are now fully open to guests.
KFC Limited-Edition 11 Herbs & Spices Fire Starter
Don't worry too long, the Finger Lickin' Good slogan will be back eventually, just not until the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that it is okay to start licking your fingers again. Until then use a fork and a knife to chow into KFC's famous fried chicken and biscuits. I don't know about you, but you don't have to ask me twice to use a fork and a knife to eat a meal.
