Why KFC Canada Changed Its Buckets and Logo for the NHL Playoffs

A look inside the Courage campaign that won 3 Grand Clios

Fans of the NHL’s Winnipeg Jets began a playoff tradition in the ’80s called “Whiteout.” They wear white to home playoff games. Today, one of the team’s beloved players is Kyle Connor, better known to the faithful as “Kyle F*cking Connor.”

These factors led KFC Canada to rebrand one of its stores. “Kyle F*cking Connor” replaced the Colonel and all-white buckets were available for a limited time.

The fun campaign scored Courage three Grand Clios at last night’s Clio Sports Awards. Courage was also named Agency of the Year and KFC Canada scored the Clios’ Brand of the Year trophy.

The video below features KFC’s “Whiteout,” those limited edition Kyle Connor buckets, custom store, along with some sightings from the Colonel himself:

Muse caught up with Dhaval Bhatt, CCO and co-founder of Courage, to learn more about both KFCs.

Muse: How long was this in the making?

Dhaval Bhatt: The “Whiteout” happened pretty organically. We knew KFC had a partnership with the Jets, but it wasn’t until the playoffs run that the “Kyle F*cking Connor” thing took seed in culture and became something we had to act on. It was awesome to see how quickly the KFC team rallied to bring the activation all the way down to restaurant level. 

What was the campaign brief?

There was no brief per se. We’re constantly on the lookout for things happening in culture where there’s a place for our brand to have a voice. Of course, we had the business objective to drive KFC sales during the playoffs. And while we had tactics and promos to deliver that, the “Kyle F*cking Connor” work added jet fuel to it all—pun intended.

Were there challenges in making this happen?

As always, the challenge is time. But that’s also the thing that helps us avoids overthinking. One of the sayings we have at Courage is: “Spin is sin.” There’s nothing like a time-sensitive idea to stop everyone from spinning and help them make quick decisions. We created special whiteout edition buckets to give away to fans, which were a massive hit. In addition to that, we also had promos running all through the playoffs run and had a store transformed with Kyle Connor on the sign.

What was Kyle Connor’s reaction?

He obviously found it funny and his people quickly reached out. He’s a great sport. 

Is this the first time KFC has removed the color from its buckets?

To our knowledge, yes.

Anything else I should know?

Look out for “Kyle F*cking Connor 2.0.”