By "free," KFC meant "not free"

Crikey!

KFC President Roger Eaton didn't see this one coming: KFC gave out free coupons for free meals, but didn't expect the demand. So, Roger posted a letter and the above video on the KFC website to explain what would happen next:

"Please visit a participating KFC restaurant for a rain check form. Complete the form, attach your original coupon , and give it to the KFC restaurant manager or postmark per the form’s instructions, by May 19, 2009, and we’ll send you a rain check for your free Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal at a later date, plus a free Pepsi with our compliments. Your participating KFC restaurant will provide you with the form you need. Please note that the redemption periods of the rain checks will vary."

Well, that makes it simple for everyone.

The overly happy video (is that a Crocodile Dundee homage?) is backed up with this news release, which blames Oprah for the mess; she heard about this promotion and told viewers about it. Damn her!

As Ron Buist points out in his excellent book about promoting Tim Hortons - Tales From Under the Rim (OK, the title sucks) - you should always know what you're getting into with promos and - of course - make sure the franchise owners are in right from the beginning.

As well, promotions have to be simple, and coupons easy to redeem, or there's no point in having them.

Thanks to Jason Booth for the link.