KFC Has Created A Spotify Playlist That Referenced The Brand In Songs

Named ‘Bucket Bangers’, the brand collaborated with digital music streaming service Spotify and listed 46 hip-hop tracks that referenced them.

Before anybody wanted K. West beats, me and my girl split the buffet at KFC! Using famous brands in hip-hop and rap is nothing new but making them a brand campaign is something new. For a long time now, the likes of fashion and alcohol have received their fair share of attention, you know that recently from Cardi B, where she likes those Balenciagas, the ones that look like socks…

So, did you know that KFC has been explicitly been mentioned a whopping 46 times in hip-hop songs over the past 30 years? From Kendrick Lamar to Run DMC and the Beastie Boys to Kanye West, the chicken chain is a serious part of the rap culture.

And now, they’re returning the favor by paying tribute with a “Bucket Bangers” Spotify playlist as a new branding campaign.

‘Bucket Bangers’ playlist is being promoted as OOH throughout France. The song lyrics will be promoted through Spotify banners and guerilla outdoor ads on the streets of Paris that feature lyrics from the songs.

KFC has had a lot of shout-outs in hip-hop tracks over the years therefore, the fast food brand’s French arm is taking advantage of rappers’ love for Colonel Sanders by creating a Spotify playlist that collects all those tracks.

The “Bucket Bangers” playlist, compiled by agency Sid Lee Paris, includes tracks such as Kanye West’s “Touch the Sky” as we mentioned above, as well as French track Déchiré by Orelsan & Gringe, which contains the rather grander proclamation “(Give me caviar every day, I’ll go to KFC”. The Beastie Boys, MIA and Kendrick Lamar also appear on the list.

Celine Mornet-Landa, Creative Director at Sid Lee Paris commented to Muse about their campaign,

The idea came about when we realized just how many exceptional hip-hop artists mention KFC in their songs. We started thinking and realized, truthfully, these were the best copywriters to talk about KFC. And we thought, ‘What if we compiled all these artists and pay tribute to them, the same way they’ve been paying tribute to KFC for nearly 40 years?’

We also wanted to be able to offer real content to fans of KFC and hip-hop. That’s why we made a playlist, rather than just an ad. To be able to offer this music to listeners the way it was written, by the artists, unadulterated.

An interesting and original branding strategy from KFC, because we’re really sure that every famous person, brand, celebrity, etc. are curious about the song(s) that they’re referenced in. And using Spotify is another great idea for the project.