Kentucky Fried Chicken switches to KFC
The Myth KFC Kentucky Fried Chicken Switches to KFC
KFC
Version One: The story of why Kentucky Fried Chicken, founded by Harland Sanders, changes its name to KFC is to remove the word “fried” from its name. The word “fried” has negative connotations like being unhealthy, having high cholesterol, causing obesity, and many more. Therefore, in an effort to rebrand itself as a healthier family restaurant that caters to people of all ages, including health-conscious individuals, Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded itself as KFC.
Version two: The US Food and Drug Administration reviewed the operations of Kentucky Fried Chicken and found that they are breeding genetically modified chickens, with extra-large breasts and extra legs to harvest the meat (the number varies from 4 to 6). The US Food and Drug Administration declares that these creatures cannot be marketed as “chickens” and Kentucky Fried Chicken, unwilling to lose such a lucrative operation to comply with the rules, decided to change its name to KFC in instead of removing the word “chicken”. .
The truth
The truth is that Kentucky Fried Chicken decides to change its name to avoid paying license fees to the state of Kentucky. In 1990, the state of Kentucky decides to register its name as a trademark to reduce its accumulated debts. As a result, Kentucky Fried Chicken has to pay a sum of money to the state for using “Kentucky”.
They are obviously unwilling to do so as they have been using it for nearly four decades (starting in the 1950s) and refused to pay such royalties as a matter of principle. After many negotiations, they were unable to budget for the government’s position and therefore decided to change their name rather than pay. This coincides with the rebranding campaign as stated above and all went well.
Evidence to suggest this version is true is that many events and businesses had also changed their names to remove the word “Kentucky”. Examples range from North America’s most famous horse race, formerly known as “Kentucky Derby” changed to “The run for the roses”, supplier of seeds and nursery suits “Kentucky Bluegrass” changed to “Shenandoah Bluegrass” and the Neil Diamond song “Kentucky Woman” was removed from radio stations at his request because he would lose more money for paying the state of Kentucky as king than he receives from the station.
Last words
In November 2006, Kentucky Fried Chicken finally reached an undisclosed agreement with the State of Kentucky regarding this issue and they are free to use their name again.
On Wikipedia about the KFC entry, there is a marked difference in the reason why KFC changes its name. The information on the Wiki takes the position that version one of the story is correct. If that’s the case, then what accounts for the renaming of other entities that have nothing to do with chickens? The truth is that it is time to open a debate but of course I will defend my points of view. If you have other opinions, do not hesitate to leave a comment on the publication itself or on our wall. Thank you very much for reading this post!
Verdict: CAUGHT!!!!!!