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El Pollo Loco steps up chicken war with KFC
May 4, 2009
COSTA MESA, Calif. — More than a week ago, El Pollo Loco challenged KFC to the Taste the Fire taste test following the chain's debut of its Kentucky Grilled Chicken line. El Pollo Loco has announced it is still waiting by the phone for the Taste the Fire Challenge to officially take flight.
The brand began airing a TV ad campaign last week featuring CEO Steve Carley challenging KFC to a taste test to prove that chicken cooked over an open flame is the only way to enjoy grilled chicken. Carley even created a designated toll-free hotline for the competitor to call to set up the showdown at 1-877-EPL-STEVE, but said there hasn't been an official response from KFC headquarters.
As a result, El Pollo Loco has released another set of ads touting the fact that KFC has yet to respond to the challenge, including one that portrays supposed crank calls from KFC corporate and Yum! Brands headquarters. (See video below.)
Mark Hardison, El Pollo Loco's vice president of marketing, said the brand has closely followed KFC's grilled chicken plans, including the April 13 product launch and its UNFry Day promotion on April 27, which gave guests a free piece of oven-grilled chicken at participating restaurants.
El Pollo Loco responded with its own Taste the Fire give away the next day — two pieces of citrus-marinated, flame-grilled, dark meat chicken plus two tortillas and salsa at all stores until 8 p.m.Hardison said the chain gave away 1.1 million pieces of chicken across its system on April 28, surpassing its goal.
"UNFry Day was a huge success and a great way to launch Kentucky Grilled Chicken," said KFC spokesperson Rick Maynard. "We gave away more than 4 million pieces of Kentucky Grilled Chicken on UNFry Day, surpassing our goal."
KFC also posted the following tweet on its Twitter site today: "Real wisdom from the real Colonel Sanders (and still true today): 'Nobody else has what we've got — the greatest chicken in the world.'"
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