News

New KFC Celebrity Colonel flashes back to football film, 'Rudy'

Photo provided.

September 5, 2019

KFC is going through the goalposts for its new celebrity colonel, by dubbing Sean Astin, the actor who played the lead in the 1993 football film, Rudy, the latest in the line of colonels — in this case, Colonel Rudy. 

Beginning this week — right in the nick of time for Thursday Night Football — the brand will start a series of TV spots that recreate iconic scenes from the original movie, including the locker room speech and when Rudy is lifted up and carried off the field as a hero, a news release said. 

"Football, Kentucky Fried Chicken and the iconic sports film, 'Rudy' -- three American classics that were made for each other," KFC U.S. CMO Andrea Zahumensky, said in the release. 

The new "colonel" will be ushered in with an LTO that gives customers a free chocolate cake with the purchase of a 10-piece meal. The new ads run through November and even feature a cameo by the real Rudy Ruettiger, the brand said.