Leo got his Oscar. Kate Winslet's not doing so bad herself. But you'll be surprised to find that KFC, home of finger-lickin' good chicken, tapped another Titanic alum to be the new Colonel Sanders. And as much as we'd love to have seen Leo take this iconic role, the white suit and ribbon tie went to actor Billy Zane.
You know Zane as bad guy Cal, but you're probably just as familiar with his new role as the Colonel. Eater reports that Zane is the latest in a long line of Hollywood actors to take on the mantle of KFC's head honcho. Zane's been tapped to promote the fried chicken chain's latest menu item: Georgia gold chicken. It's the same fried chicken you know and love, only it's slathered in a rich honey mustard sauce. Why Zane? (Who's not from Georgia — he's from Chicago.) According to KFC, it's because Zane's known for playing rich bad guys.
"Cal from Titanic was evil, and our colonel isn't evil. But the idea is to have an irreverent, playful take on things," Kevin Hochman, KFC's CMO, said. "The whole idea of the campaign is, you don't have to be a millionaire to eat like one. Billy Zane's playfulness comes through in the ad."
Zane follows in the illustrious footsteps of Vincent Kartheiser, Darrell Hammond, Jim Gaffigan, Norm MacDonald, and George Hamilton. As silly as these ads seem, there must be something special in that suit, because KFC has experienced "nine consecutive quarters of sales growth."
Check out Zane in action, below.
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