KFC's menu gets a little less fried

Kentucky Fried Chicken is about to get a little less -- well, fried.

Fast-food chain KFC, famous for its "finger-lickin' good" fried chicken, on Tuesday unveiled a new line of roasted chicken entrees aimed at reversing months of disappointing sales trends and raising the chain's profile among increasingly health-conscious U.S. consumers.

The "Oven Roasted" menu offerings will appear at KFC's U.S. restaurants beginning May 10 and an accompanying television advertising campaign will launch a week earlier.

KFC, a unit of Yum Brands Inc. posted a 7-percent decline in sales at restaurants open at least a year, or same-store sales, for the four weeks ended April 17. It was the chain's fifth straight sales period without a rise in sales.

The roasted chicken offerings, which include strips, wraps, and salads, are designed to compete with similar menu items at rival fast-food chains such as McDonald's Corp.

Many restaurant chains have introduced healthier meal options in a bid to fend off attacks from health and nutrition experts who say their fried and fatty foods are contributing to the nation's obesity epidemic. McDonald's, for instance, rolled out a line of salads last year that struck a chord with consumers and helped reverse its own flagging sales trends.

At a luncheon with reporters at Manhattan's Tavern on the Green restaurant, KFC executives said the chain's new ad campaign, "Chicken Capital U.S.A", will help convey the message that KFC is a place that sells all kinds of chicken dishes, not just artery-clogging fried chicken.

"Chicken Capital U.S.A. is more than just a campaign or a tagline," said KFC President Gregg Dedrick. "For us it represents a new attitude -- an energy and an excitement and a relevance that we think will reconnect KFC with our customers."

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The ads feature young actors, many of which sport trendy "trucker" baseball caps, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with phrases such as "Drive-thru Diva," "Chicks for Chicken," and "Right Wing Left Wing it Tastes the Same to Me."

One ad features mostly young women and emphasizes KFC's new roasted chicken offerings.

The other ad appears to be aimed at young men and centers around KFC's fried products. That ad features scenes of NASCAR racing as well as shots of country-western singer Trace Adkins, who sings the theme song. The ads were produced by Foote Cone & Belding, a unit of the world's No. 2 advertising group, Interpublic Group of Cos Inc.

Yum said last week it expect same-store sales at KFC to rise between 1 percent and 2 percent in the second half of 2004, helped by the major re-branding effort, which includes new menu boards at all of the chain's U.S. restaurants.

The menu boards, which Dedrick said on Tuesday will be in most restaurants by the end of May, feature a new green section that will showcase non-fried menu items.