KFC Doctor Doom advert: Mother’s Avengers: Doomsday tie-in launches the Doom Burger

KFC has signed a deal with a supervillain. Its new global campaign ties in with Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in UK cinemas on 16 December, and puts Doctor Doom at the centre of a limited-time menu led by the Doom Burger. Created by Mother and developed by KFC UK and Ireland on behalf of KFC Global, it will run in more than 100 countries, as Decision Marketing reported.

The work

The 60-second film opens on a city wrecked by a battle with the Avengers, with Doctor Doom looking down on the ruins. The camera picks through the remains of flattened takeaways and restaurants to a version of Oh Happy Day, before finding one KFC standing untouched in the middle of the carnage. A voiceover explains that KFC has come to an agreement with Doctor Doom, and that all it had to do was create the Doom Burger. There are also 30 and 15-second cuts.

The burger comes in a black bun, and it sits inside a wider package: a Doctor Doom-inspired menu, dark iron-riveted packaging featuring Doom’s mask, Colonel Sanders Cosplay Collection figurines and in-store activations. The campaign runs across video, out-of-home, social, restaurants and packaging, with the film adapted for each market. In the UK, the film’s end card says the Doom Burger is available until 3 January, while stocks last.

The UK and Ireland go first, with other markets following through December and the campaign running to the end of January. It is not running in the US, India or China. Christophe Poirier, KFC’s chief concept officer, called it “KFC’s most expansive joint venture to date”.

Why it matters

Film tie-ins usually mean a hero on a cup. KFC has done something smarter by siding with the villain, which gives Mother a premise rather than a licence: the one restaurant Doom spares is the one that made him a burger. It fits a brand that has built its recent reputation on cheek, from the FCK apology to its own YouTube game show, Don’t Crack.

Doomsday is one of the biggest releases of the year, with Robert Downey Jr returning to Marvel as Doctor Doom, so KFC will not have the film to itself. In the US, where its deal does not apply, Dunkin’ has launched its own Doomsday menu. The difference is that KFC has taken a single character and built the menu, packaging and collectibles around him, which should give it a longer run in restaurants than a trailer-led promotion.

The risk is timing. The burger lands more than a month before the film, in the thick of the Christmas advertising season, and the joke depends on audiences knowing who Doom is. If the film delivers on 16 December, KFC will already be sitting in the middle of the conversation, with a burger on the menu until the new year.