Bid farewell to the Colonel Sanders you know. KFC revealed on Thursday that they will be replacing their brand icon with another person. And this time, he is black.
Comedian David Alan Grier was unveiled the newest face of KFC, acting as the fast food giant's founder, Colonel Sanders. It was confirmed on Twitter, making him the first African-American to portray the role.
Being his usual funny self, Grier tweeted; "Breaking News: has been cast as the first African-American Colonel Sanders in the new KFC and Campaign.#KFC"
In the past years, the role was given to Norm MacDonald and Darrell Hammond. Colonel Sanders is famous as the icon of KFC, with his smiley face fully-bearded. Breaking the notion that the fast food company is rumored to be racist, this is a "bold move" by KFC.
KFC's twitter responded to Grier's tweet, saying; "@davidalangrier, I saw your tweet. I've always been a huge fan of yours, but I never knew you were such a fan of mine! Excited! DM (Direct Message) me!"
It's also worth noting that the display picture of KFC's Twitter account is of the Colonel, which in the near future, will be replaced by Grier's face.
The 2016 Super Bowl marked the last bigtime event of MacDonald in character, as a commercial bidding goodbye to him was aired. He started being the Colonel August of 2016, replacing Hammond which took the role in May.
According to the company, the active participation of Colonel Sanders is working.
"If you looked at social media over Halloween, there were zillions of Colonel Sanders costumes - not just kids, but adults," Kevin Hochman, KFC's chief marketing officer, told Business Insider.
Though the happy-looking Colonel is loved by many, KFC still knows that 20% of their customers hate the new Colonel Sanders Ads, but the fact doesn't bother them.
"They're actually talking about KFC, and you can market to love and hate - you cannot market to indifference," Yum Brands CEO Greg Creed said in May.
