From KFC, a 3-Letter Apology for Its U.K. Chicken Crisis<br />LONDON — When KFC found itself in an extra-crispy predicament this week when it was unable to provide the<br />one thing customers expect from the restaurant chain — chicken — it had two choices: Laugh or cry.<br />So the closure caused no small amount of grief and rage in a country where fried chicken — whether at KFC or at<br />one of its many imitators, like Chicken Cottage, Tennessee Fried Chicken and Dixie Chicken — is never far away.<br />In a statement, KFC said the ad was a “tongue-in-cheek rearrangement of our brand name intended to indicate<br />our first thought when we realized the impact of our closed restaurants on customers in the U. K.”<br />The ad was in keeping with the public-relations approach that had been employed ever since the scale of the supply-chain snafu made itself apparent.<br />It made light of the situation earlier by posting a riddle known to every schoolchild — “Why did the chicken cross the road?” —<br />and answering in a way that reflected its nearly existential crisis<br />If a vowel was missing, the meaning was clear, expressing a sentiment held by both the restaurant<br />and its customers, as problems with a new supply chain forced the closure of nearly two-thirds of KFC’s British branches this week.<br />The KFC ad was headlined “We’re sorry,” while acknowledging the chain’s bizarre plight.<br />Britain’s culinary reputation might have been built on a foundation of fish and chips and cucumber sandwiches,<br />but the country has developed an extraordinary fondness for poultry slathered in batter and fried in oil.
