The Oprah Mistake That Made KFC Run Out Of Chicken

On paper, KFC's partnership with Oprah Winfrey couldn't fail. After all, any brand that's received an endorsement from Winfrey knows what an amazing sales boost her approval brings. In 2009, Winfrey agreed to use her nationally televised program as a platform to debut KFC's newest menu item, Kentucky Grilled Chicken. However, KFC greatly underestimated the power of the "Oprah Effect," as a free offer promoted by the famed talk show host led to chaos at KFC restaurants.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken was advertised as a healthier fast food alternative. It was introduced to menus during an era when the restaurant was perhaps trying to distance itself from its fried history. (Apparently, this is one of the reasons why Kentucky Fried Chicken shortened its name to KFC.) Given that Winfrey's health journey has made headlines over the years, she appeared as the perfect brand ambassador for KFC's grilled chicken.

In early May 2009, Winfrey announced on her namesake show that for 24 hours, viewers could download a coupon from her website for a free two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal. No additional purchase was necessary. The demand caused by Winfrey's coupon was unprecedented in KFC's marketing history. Reports quickly spread of lines snaking out the door at KFCs across the country, and some locations even ran out of grilled chicken. (In this sense, KFC's promotion was similar to McDonald's disastrous Olympics promotion.) Other hungry customers complained that they couldn't even successfully download the coupon from Winfrey's website in the first place. Within days, an overwhelmed KFC cancelled the free grilled chicken promotion.

KFC tried to contain the damage by quickly shutting down coupon redemptions, but rumors of angry customers rioting over the lack of free chicken were already spreading. One report from a New York City KFC alleged that frustrated would-be diners staged a sit-in in an attempt to be fed. (KFC denied the reports of people rioting over the mishandled promotion.) Roger Eaton, who was president of the chain in the United States, issued an apology and announced that coupon holders could submit rain check forms, meaning they could cash in the offer once KFC had restocked the new offering.

Oprah Winfrey didn't emerge unscathed from the Kentucky Grilled Chicken rollout, either. Animal rights activists were frustrated with Winfrey for endorsing KFC when she'd previously received an award from PETA for her reporting on chicken factory farming.

Kentucky Grilled Chicken remained on the KFC menu for some time after the disastrous promotion and even received a high-profile reintroduction in 2011. At this time, customers were promised that the grilled chicken was made with larger pieces of breast meat. (Granted, bigger food isn't always better for fast food chains. For another botched rollout, look to Long John Silver's cancelled Big Catch Meal.) KFC also offered a coupon for Kentucky Grilled Chicken's relaunch. This time around, it offered a more modest buy-one-get-one-free deal.