Customers and staff at KFC franchises across North America tentatively held out five-dollar bills on Monday after the launch of the restaurant’s remarkably unclear “5 Dollars” promotion. The popular fast food chain began promoting the slogan with an aggressive television ad campaign in which the words KFC and 5 Dollars flash silently on screen for 30 seconds without additional context or explanation.
“I’m not sure if I’m supposed to give them five dollars, or if they’re going to give me five dollars,” said Brian Hesterfeld, a customer at a St. Louis, MO, KFC. He said he remembers also being confused during KFC’s similarly vague “Potatoes” promotion of 2017. “I think maybe I’m just going to hand someone a five dollar bill and see what happens?”
Anticipating record-setting profits from the “5 Dollars” promotion, KFC parent company Yum! Brands announced plans earlier this week to follow up the effort in early 2019 with a new promotion called “Food.”
