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Hamburglar, Colonel Sanders return to delight Millennials

As QSRs struggle to gain market share, some have resorted to nostaligic marketing campaigns to capture the attention of the 18- to 34-year old Millennials

June 15, 2015

As QSRs struggle to gain market share, some have resorted to nostaligic marketing campaigns to capture the attention of the 18- to 34-year old Millennials, according to a Bloomberg News article.

QSR foods once considered delicious and inexpensive are now associated with guilt, the article said. Americans today are eating less fast food than previous years, with McDonald's experiencing a 4 percent drop in same-store sales and Chick-fil-A passing KFC with fewer locations that all close on Sundays.

"It's not just about the cheapest price anymore," Bonnie Riggs, a restaurant industry analyst at research firm NPD Group, said in the article. "People need another reason to visit a fast-food restaurant."

That's why McDonald's, Burger King and KFC have employed characters previously out of commission for many years: to "personify" the brand, Bloomberg reported. Hamburglar has returned to McDonald's after a 13-year hiatus, as a bearded, trench coat-wearing hipster eager to steal the chain's new Sirloin Burger

Burger King has resurrected its plastic-faced King, who had been unemployed for four years, for a series of commercials and placement in Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s entourage for his fight against Manny Pacquiao, Bloomberg said.

Colonel Sanders has also risen from the deadto join KFC again, played by former Saturday Night Live member Darrell Hammond. Out of commission since 1994, KFC is broadcasting colorful stories about the real Colonel Sanders, who dropped out of grade school and once shot a man, according to the article.

"Young people right now like the idea of doing one thing really well—craft beers, DIY videos on YouTube, stuff like that," KFC's COO Kevin Hochman said. "So we explain to them Colonel Sanders does that one thing—he makes fried chicken. It makes us relevant again."