KFC releases vintage buckets of fried chicken, as brands from Burger King to Budweiser tap into nostalgia to counter 'collective loss' in pandemic
- KFC is rolling out vintage buckets for the holidays, re-releasing its 1966 and 1971 designs.
- The holiday buckets will be available at all locations starting on November 24.
- Nostalgia marketing is on the rise during the pandemic.
- Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor, said that the rise of nostalgia in advertising is "grounded in a sense of collective loss that we're all feeling."
KFC is celebrating the holiday season by bringing back some vintage buckets.
On Monday, the chicken chain announced it will re-release its 1966 and 1971 US holiday buckets, as well as debut a vintage-inspired 2020 design. The 1966 and 1971 buckets were precisely recreated, with the '66 bucket featuring KFC's retired tagline: ""North America's Hospitality Dish."
The holiday buckets will be available in all US KFC locations starting on November 24. The company said in a press release that KFC will only provide a limited supply of the 1966 and 1971 buckets.
"KFC bucket meals have been bringing people together around the dinner table for more than 60 years," said Andrea Zahumensky, KFC's US CMO, said in a statement.
"Even though the holidays may look a little different this year, we hope our holiday buckets help everyone hark back to a simpler time and bring some comfort and joy to your homes and your families throughout the season," Zahumensky continued.
KFC is far from the only brand tapping into nostalgia in 2020.
Business Insider's Tanya Dua reported in October that brands are relying on nostalgia marketing, as people crave comfort during the pandemic. Chips Ahoy, Burger King, and AT&T all brought back retired mascots or brand spokespeople in recent months, while Budweiser revamped its 1999 "Whassup" ad.
Krystine Batcho, a psychology professor at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, told Dua that the new reliance on nostalgia is "grounded in a sense of collective loss that we're all feeling for having suddenly lost so many of the things that we took for granted."
"These conditions make it even more likely that people would gravitate toward this kind of marketing," Batcho continued.