KFC apologises for chicken shortage with witty 'FCK, we're sorry' advert
KFC may have run out of chicken this week but at least its sense of humour appears in tact.
The fried chicken chain had to close hundreds of stores after a supply fiasco left it unable to serve up its signature food.
But after reopening 700 of its 900 UK outlets, the fast food giant appears ready to see the funny side.
A full-page newspaper advert on Friday included a witty advert featuring an imaginative reordering of its lettering to spell 'FCK'.
"A chicken restaurant without any chicken. It's not ideal," read the ad.
"Huge apologies to our customers, especially those who travelled out of their way to find we were closed."
The advert continued: "It's been a hell of a week, but we're making progress, and every day more and more fresh chicken is being delivered to our restaurants. Thank you for bearing with us."
The advert was hailed as "a masterclass in PR crisis management" by public relations worker Andrew Bloch.
KFC apologises with a full page ad in today's Metro. A masterclass in PR crisis management.#KFCCrisis pic.twitter.com/ZF4SfAuHl5
— Andrew Bloch (@AndrewBloch) February 23, 2018
Nigel Risner added: "Brilliant advert from KFC. Sometimes you have to use some humour to say sorry".
Brilliant advert from KFC
Sometimes you have to use some humour to say sorry #brilliantadvert #saysorry #leadership #motivation pic.twitter.com/4ZCgFzBPgz— Nigel Risner (@Nigelrisner) February 23, 2018
An advert like this is almost enough to make me want to get back into advertising... kudos to @KFC_UKI #advertising #KFC pic.twitter.com/uW7iRrmbHz
— Marian Arnold-Lawson (@MarketingMaz) February 23, 2018
The shortage came after KFC switched suppliers from Bidvest to DHL, which is using one warehouse near Rugby for its deliveries across the UK.
DHL apologised and blamed "operational issues" for the supply problems.