Crecia C. Swaim
Background
In 1930, in the front room of a gas station, Harland Sanders opened Sanders Court & Café in Corbin, Kentucky, serving as cook, cashier, and station manager. (9) In 1936 Harland was made an honorary colonel by then governor Ruby Laffoon for his contributions to the state's cuisine! The business expanded its seating in 1937, and was destroyed by fire in 1939. The business was rebuilt and reopened later that same year. At this time, the pressure cooker was introduced, which allowed fresher food to be delivered faster. Franchises began opening in 1952, the first one in Salt Lake City, Utah. By 1960 there were 400 franchise locations in the U.S. and Canada. In 1964 the first overseas KFC franchise opened in England. By 2006 there were KFC restaurants in more than 80 countries and territories worldwide.
The French website for Kentucky Fried Chicken is: http://www.kfc.fr/. The current catchphrase of KFC is Tellement bon. (So good.) This is the same one used in the U.S today.
Commercial-Based Activities
First KFC Television Commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy-FCpkdp8Q
According to the KFCfrance username entry on YouTube, Kentucky Fried Chicken broadcast its first television commercial in France in April of this year (2010). It follows the journey of a bucket of KFC chicken from breading station to warming oven (although the frialators are visible in the background, the chicken is never actually shown frying, as if it went from breading station to oven.) The bucket then travels to a series of really fun events, where everyone is thrilled that someone brought the KFC. The soundtrack is upbeat; the only lyrics, the repetition of a single phrase - Oh yeah. At the bottom of the screen is the upper quarter of the KFC bucket, seen traveling to each fun new party as if the cameraman is carrying it, from roller coaster ride at an amusement park to leisurely watching a sunset with a loved one, to a zany costume party. The slogan is said at the end, and another message from our friends at the PNNS appears at the bottom of the screen. The commercial stresses the importance of the bucket as a way to share with friends; the music not only indicates fun but also a particular fusion of French and American fun.
The song is written and performed by a Parisian duo called Housse de Racket. Although only the chorus is excerpted for the commercial, the actual song begins with the following line, in French: I have a big plan for the future, to please her I'll become. Next the names of a series of African-American musicians are given. Then the repetition of oh yeah to that catchy tune. The only other lyric is the last sentence, in French, saying I'll change, tomorrow or maybe never. (10) The group is popular with young people in France and England right now, as evidenced by a perusal of the band's wall/friend comments on their MySpace and Facebook (social networking sites) pages. (11)
This commercial would fit nicely at the end of a class, as a way to have students consider some of our big marketing questions. After viewing the commercial, students can write an answer to a higher order thinking question, in English. Current language arts high-stakes testing question stems should be used to create the question, so that you are giving your students relevant writing practice. Ask a language arts teacher or another helpful resource to offer guidance in both scoring and providing constructive feedback to the student. This would be a great Think-Pair-Share opportunity if you have a few extra minutes, so that students are getting the full benefit of exploring the concept without taking too much from our valuable in-class French-speaking time.
See Classroom Activity 2 for an activity comparing the kid's meals from KFC and our next restaurant, Quick.