American fast-food restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has launched a new product named the Esports Performance Burger. This is part of a promotion to promote a new vegan addition to its menu, which comes with a parody documentary produced by gaming agency Kairos Esports.
KFC x Performance
Esports, redefined. pic.twitter.com/YZIx0zW6AK
— KFC Gaming (@kfcgaming) February 5, 2020
Vegan Esports Performance Burger
“Working with the team at KFC has been an absolute pleasure and we look forward to bringing many more great activations to gamers. The last year has been all about establishing KFC Gaming as a leading brand activation in the esports and gaming industry,” said Drew Townley, CEO of Kairos Esports, in a release. “We’re excited to kick-off 2020 with a fun ad for the new KFC Vegan Burger and it’s ‘esports performance-enhancing’ characteristics, which may or may not be substantiated by evidence…”
The campaign was created to help promote KFC’s vegan burger and renew an existing partnership between Kairos Esports and the fast-food brand. Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, also owns Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and WingStreet – companies that have made their own moves into the esports space during the previous year. While it may not be the healthiest, fast food is probably what many gamers already enjoy.
KFC Gaming in esports
“It’s been amazing to see the reception of our new Esports Performance Burger and know that it’s unlocking the potential of our customers and taking their gaming to the next level,” said Josh Benge, Brand Engagement Manager at KFC. “We can’t wait to see elite-level gamers taking to servers the world over and showing off the potential of plant-based performance.”
In addition to sponsored streams and other brand activations, the fast-food brand hosted an online tournament named the KFC Royale in 2019. This saw content creators and qualified players competing on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for a chance to win a £15,000 ($19.4K USD) prize. In addition, the influencer in first place took home the KFC Black Card, which entitles the holder to £200 ($260 USD) in free KFC a day.
