Goodbye KFC Colonel... Hello Generic Old Guy

So I came across this article in The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky, about the new updated Colonel that has been created for KFC. To quote to the article, "The new Colonel is younger, better defined, a video-age celebrity chef. And he doesn't have to share his space with the letters KFC. He's meant to represent Kentucky Fried Chicken again. His new look is less like your grandfather and more like your cousin."

Do they really believe that's what they've done? Here, take a look for yourself....

This is the OLD (Current) Colonel:




and here's the NEW "younger, better defined" Colonel:



Is it just me, or have they basically elimenated everything that made this guy real? The new image reminds me of what they did to Betty Crocker in the 1990's. Younger, smoother, less detail. Why do we continue to do this to brand icons? It seems so safe to "young it up," when there is just as much potential for strong identity in embracing the details that make something unique.

Instead, this new icon seems to get rid of any definition of character in the man's face, and the result is a generic old guy that looks less like the actual man it was based on and more like any number of people who both patronize and/or work at KFC.

Notice that addition of a KFC apron? I think that small addition is what really ruins the entire image. Why? Because now the Colonel doesn't look like the founder/host of a family restaurant chain, but more like just one of the thousands of senior aged employees that have had to get jobs at their local KFC because their pensions or Social Security checks aren't enough to keep ends meet. It's no longer a welcoming image, but a depressing one.

Now I'll admit, I don't eat at KFC all that much, but when I've had a craving for it, I've always been happy to know it was there. In fact, I would think they could do more to improve their brand if they followed the lead of the other major fast food markets and started promoting healthier menu options and focused more on the product.

Make the Colonel stand for something of quality and that will stick with me. A revamped brand icon means nothing unless it translates into the product, and I don't see that happening here at all.

If anything, they've distanced me as a customer by further distorting something I used to be able to rely on. Make the Colonel the Colonel again. Put his photo on a T shirt with a retro logo theme, and I just might go to your restaurant just for the shirt. And once I got in there, I'd catch the scent of your delicious food, and combine that with the old-fashioned, original uniqueness of the brand in my mind, and start returning to KFC a whole lot more.