‘Kentucky for Christmas’: How a Marketing Campaign became a Cultural Tradition

By Louis Walker

In a world where turkey is the main course in your typical Christmas dinner, it seems bizarre to think that not just fried chicken could be the main course, but specifically Kentucky Fried Chicken. Yet, that’s exactly what approximately 3.6 million families in Japan do every year as their annual tradition. But why?

 It wasn’t until the late 1960’s that people started celebrating Christmas in Japan, although not in the sense that we are used to in the west. Initially aimed at entertaining children, local confectionary companies would promote cakes and sweets for families to host parties in December. At this time, KFC wasn’t even available in Japan yet.

1970 would mark the first KFC store in Japan, opening in Nagoya in 1970. It would be in 1974 however where a new tradition would be created. The story goes that a foreigner visiting Tokyo walks into a KFC store on Christmas Day and says to a staff member “I can’t get turkey in Japan, so I have no choice but to celebrate Christmas with Kentucky Fried Chicken”. Another member of staff from the sales team overhears this and comes up with the idea 「クリスマスにはケンタッキー」 (‘Kentucky for Christmas’). Coupled with a bucket of chicken and a bottle of wine, the campaign was an instant success and opened up the idea that Christmas in Japan could be celebrated by more than just children.

Since it’s inception in 1974, the Christmas campaign has continued to evolve over the years, including dressing up Colonel Sander in a Father Christmas outfit and new menu items added such as a premium roast chicken which can cost up to 5,800 yen (around £38). Today, it’s estimated that around a third of their yearly sales in Japan comes from these Christmas buckets, with December 24th typically being the busiest day of the year. The demand is so high that preorders for the Christmas buckets are made available as early as October so families can ensure they’re guaranteed to get their chicken.

So, the next time you tuck into your Christmas Dinner, whatever that may be, remember this, tradition is what you make it.