Christmas dinner? No, it’s a KFC-scented log
The sights and sounds of the holiday season are familiar to us all: snow falling gently outside, stockings overflowing with gifts, “White Christmas” playing softly in the background.
Now imagine that scene, except the whole house smells like Kentucky Fried Chicken.
That’s the vision of holiday cheer that KFC is hoping to sell this month with the release of a branded log designed to create a “warm fried chicken-scented fire” on the hearth.
When KFC launched the logs last year, the chain sold its entire supply online in three hours, according to a company representative. This year, the logs are on sale at Walmart for $18.99, in what the retailer describes as a limited-time deal. KFC would not say how many logs are available.
KFC has been pitching the scented logs as an environmentally sustainable alternative to firewood: The chain designed the product in a partnership with Enviro-Log, a company that makes firewood substitutes from recycled waxed cardboard.
In a statement, KFC’s chief marketing officer in the U.S., Andrea Zahumensky, said the chain had received “weekly calls from hopeful fans” desperate for the return of the log.
The unveiling of the scented logs drew immediate ridicule on Twitter from critics who called it a new low in Christmas marketing.
Still, the new product has at least one important advantage over homemade alternatives, according to Walmart. The log, the retailer’s website states, is significantly less wasteful than “burning actual fried chicken.”