Colonel Sanders Is Back and Selling Chicken. Of Course He’s Been Dead for Some 35 Years

He was an advertising icon for the ages. Colonel Harlan Sanders.

Not only was Colonel Sanders the advertising face and voice of Kentucky Fried Chicken, he started the company. I remember oh so many years ago going into a Kentucky Fried Chicken for the first time. It was the best chicken because, well, it wasn't just fried, it was Kentucky fried! Besides, that grandfatherly bearded gentleman in the white suit said it was good. Who was I, as a young person, to dispute a Kentucky Colonel!

Harlan Sanders passed away back in 1980 and so an advertising icon was gone forever.

Or was he?? According to the Associated Press, the Colonel is back! Well, kind of.

(AP) - KFC is bringing back Colonel Sanders as the fried chicken chain seeks to refresh its image.

Sanders, who founded KFC, will be played by "Saturday Night Live" alumnus Darrell Hammond in TV commercials. The real Col. Harland Sanders died nearly 35 years ago, and KFC hasn't featured him in TV ads for about 20 years.

KFC also plans to redesign its restaurants. The new restaurants will have light fixtures shaped like chicken buckets and quotes from Col. Sanders hanging on the wall.
The resurrection of Col. Sanders comes a couple of weeks after rival McDonald's said it would bring back its classic character, the Hamburglar, to TV ads.

KFC is owned by Louisville, Kentucky-based Yum Brands Inc., which also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.

I hope the new campaign does well for the company. But is there anything better than the real thing? Check out the real Colonel Sanders in this classic Kentucky Fried Chicken ad, and pass me a drumstick.