‘It’s Not a Garnish. It’s a Life-style’ – KFC Celebrates the Pickle

KFC Australia has launched a brand new marketing campaign by way of Special, constructed round a limited-time pickle-themed menu. Created to launch the KFC x Pickles limited-time supply (LTO), the marketing campaign faucets into Australia’s rising urge for food for unconventional and polarising flavours, taking the pickle pattern past meals and positioning it as a life-style.

Special noticed a chance to harness the keenness of “pickle fanatics” and use it to attract the broader “pickle curious” into the cultural second.

“We didn’t just drop a menu item – we built an entire subculture,” mentioned Tom Martin, CCO & Partner, Special.

“By giving this LTO the high-fashion treatment it deserved, we turned a flavor obsession into full-blown Picklecore. It’s unapologetic, gloriously weird, and proves that when you lean into cultural absurdity, people don’t just eat the food – they live the lifestyle.”

Under the marketing campaign platform, “It’s not a garnish. It’s a lifestyle,” Picklecore offers the meals pattern the high-fashion remedy, making a tradition and identification round KFC’s new restricted time solely pickle vary, together with Pickle Burger, Pickle Pepsi Max, Frickles and Pickle Loaded Chips.

The marketing campaign first appeared by teaser billboards that includes Picklecore merchandise together with pickle pants, watches, and lipstick, earlier than extending throughout social and tradition with podcaster and radio host Luisa Dal Din.

At the middle of it’s a 15-second hero movie styled like a high-fashion marketing campaign and soundtracked by techno, bringing the Picklecore world to life whereas blurring the strains between meals promoting and trend. The movie is supported by out-of-home, social, and audio executions, making a multi-channel marketing campaign designed to achieve everybody from dedicated pickle followers to these but to be transformed.

“Continuing to push boundaries and lean into culture is at the heart of our success story,” mentioned Vanessa Rowed, CMO, KFC SOPAC.

“Picklecore is more than just a menu launch – it’s an invitation to our fans and the ‘pickle-curious’ to experience KFC in a totally new way. It shines a light on how we can take a passionate food obsession and turn it into bold, entertaining work, giving our biggest lovers of the brand an unmissable reason to drop in while driving real commercial momentum during a key period.”

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Credits

KFC

Vanessa Rowed: CMO KFC SOPAC
Sabrina Douglas: Marketing Director, Integrated Brand & Comms
Ruth Goumans: Marketing Manager, Calendar & LRM
Isabella Margin: Brand Manager, Menu & Innovation
Bridget Cooper: Head of Media
Christian Fox: Manager, Media

Special

CEOs/Partners: Lindsey Evans & Cade Heyde
CCOs/Partners: Tom Martin & Julian Schreiber
CSO/Partner: Dave Hartmann
Client Partner: Jaimee Kerr
Creatives: Amanda Alegre, Joel Grunstein & Tom Lock
Team Lead: Rebecca Ingham
Business Director: Elliot Aitken
Business Manager: Femke Pusey
Senior Strategist: Adelaide Day-Collett
MD, Special PR: Alex Bryant
Creative Strategy Director (PR): Kate Wilkinson
Client Services Director (PR): Georgina Thompson
Group Account Director (PR): Renee Black
Senior Account Executive (PR): Emma McLaren
Designers: Hamish Kennelly & Designer
AI Artist: Nathanial Kiwi
National Head of Production: Tash Johnson
Senior Producer: Amanda Collins
Head of Stills: Nick Lilley
Senior Video Editor: Aleks Manou
Finished Artist: Jen Bailey

Mosaic

Michael Thomas: Sound Design & Mix
Adam Moses: Head of Creative/Partner
Bill Doig: EP/Partner
Mads Wilkinson: Producer

Essence Mediacom

Linh Pham: Client Director
Aideen Dunne: Planning Director
Marcus Layman: Group Planning Director
Ben Carlson: Implementation & Activation Director
Belinda Meek: Implementation & Activation Director
Taufiq Zainal: Implementation & Activation Director
Zoe Holling: Implementation & Activation Manager
Max Phillips: Implementation & Activation Executive
Rex Traje: Implementation & Activation Coordinator
Saverio Manucra: Implementation & Activation Executive

WPP Influence

Francesca Gaymour: Influencer Associate Director
Sahil Singhvi: Social & Influencer Associate Manager
Zoe Mayoh: Social & Influencer Executive