Before KFC became a global fast-food giant, it started with a single man cooking chicken on the side of a highway in Corbin, Kentucky. Harland Sanders opened Sanders’ Court & Café in the late 1930s, where he refined the recipe that would eventually make him famous. By 1940, his Original Recipe — a blend of 11 herbs and spices — was set. That recipe has never been publicly revealed.
Sanders didn’t begin franchising until 1952, when Pete Harman opened the first official Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Salt Lake City, Utah. Harman was also the person credited with coining the slogan “Finger Lickin’ Good.” In those early years, advertising was handled at the local level, with individual restaurant owners placing their own ads in local newspapers.
By 1957, one of KFC’s most recognizable icons arrived: the striped bucket. Pete Harman introduced the bucket as a way to sell larger quantities of chicken for family meals. It was a practical and clever marketing move — a full bucket fed a family and made Kentucky Fried Chicken feel like an event rather than just a meal. The bucket became central to KFC’s identity almost immediately.
The 1960s brought real momentum. Colonel Sanders began appearing personally in advertisements, which was a distinctive approach at the time. Most food brands relied on fictional mascots or generic imagery. Sanders was a real person with a real story, and his look — the white suit, string tie, and gray beard — was immediately recognizable. KFC leaned heavily into that image throughout the decade.
By the mid-to-late 1960s, KFC’s advertising had developed a clear strategy: position fried chicken as the perfect solution for family meals, especially on weekends and holidays. Campaigns targeted homemakers directly, framing KFC as a way to skip cooking without sacrificing a proper sit-down dinner. The messaging was specific and consistent across dozens of ads from this period.
The holiday season was another major advertising focus. KFC ran campaigns in 1967 and 1968 targeting Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other gatherings, pushing the bucket as a centerpiece for holiday meals. These weren’t subtle suggestions — the ads directly told consumers to replace home cooking with KFC for their holiday tables.
KFC also used celebrity partnerships to broaden its reach. A 1967 campaign featured comedian Jerry Lewis alongside Colonel Sanders — an unusual pairing that reflected the era’s taste for mixing humor with brand promotion. Sanders himself was comfortable in front of a camera, which made these collaborations feel natural rather than forced.
Entering the 1970s, KFC’s expansion accelerated internationally. The brand moved into markets across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and beyond, which required menu adjustments for local tastes. Some markets received rice-based dishes; others received halal-certified chicken. Back home, advertising shifted toward lifestyle themes, showing families gathered around buckets of chicken at picnics, cookouts, and dinner tables.
The mid-1970s menus reflect how much the chain had grown. Prices remained low, and the core menu — Original Recipe chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, and biscuits — stayed consistent. The bucket remained the centerpiece. Regional variations existed, but KFC kept its menu tight compared to competitors who were rapidly expanding their offerings during the same period.
The 1980s brought a sharper focus on value and speed. Television advertising became the dominant medium, and KFC’s commercials emphasized quick service, affordable meal deals, and convenience. Special promotions and bundled meals became a major part of the marketing strategy. Cooking equipment was also upgraded across locations during this decade, which helped standardize food quality in a chain that had grown to thousands of locations worldwide.
