Chef Colonel Sanders In Street Fighter 6
Read the story- Brand
- KFC
- Year
- 2023
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Food & Drink
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- In-Game
- Agency
- Courage
Objective
KFC Canada wanted a way into gaming and esports culture without paying for a formal sponsorship, using its own mascot instead of a licensing deal. The timing rode Street Fighter 6's launch, one of the year's biggest releases with over two million copies sold in its first month and a growing esports scene. The goal was to turn that visibility into summer sales at the restaurant.
Solution
The game lives inside Street Fighter 6 itself rather than a standalone app. Players spot a recipe code on social media, from streamers, or in the press, open the game, and head to the Battle Hub's Body Shop avatar kiosk to enter it — turning their fighter into Chef Colonel Sanders, complete with his white hair, black-framed glasses, and goatee on a heavyweight brawler's build. From there they can take him into World Tour mode or show him off live in the Battle Hub. Landing a flashy combo, players record their screen and post the clip to Instagram tagging @kfc_canada for a shot at a KFC gift card — the mechanic's tagline: "Record combos to get combos."
Results
The collaboration generated more than $16 million in earned media value and drove an 8% increase in KFC Canada sales; the campaign film became the chain's most-shared video within two hours of launch.
- 1
The campaign opens with KFC Canada's announcement and coverage in gaming press and among streamers, revealing a playable "Chef Colonel Sanders" and publishing a recipe code for Street Fighter 6.
- 2
The player launches Street Fighter 6, enters the Battle Hub, and opens the Avatar Creator at the Body Shop kiosk — the same tool normally used to build a custom fighter.
- 3
Inside the Avatar Creator's Recipes feature, the player types in KFC's code to load the pre-built Colonel avatar; no sign-up or brand-side registration is required.
- 4
The loaded avatar recreates the Colonel's white hair, black-framed glasses, and goatee on a noticeably bulkier fighter physique.
- 5
The player applies the recipe to their own avatar and takes the Colonel into World Tour and into matches against other players.
- 6
The contest layer asks players to land an 11-hit combo with the Colonel — a nod to KFC's eleven herbs and spices — and capture it with a screen recording.
- 7
Players post their combo clip to Instagram tagging @kfc_canada as their entry, and finished entries go into a random drawing for CA$50 KFC gift cards.
