Kentucky Fracked Chicken

“KFC” is a rebranding of “Kentucky Fried Chicken,” meant to obfuscate the word “fried.” If you don’t remember the rebranding, then it may not seem like that big of a change. But trust me, it was. The word “fried” really used to be a big part of the ads. Now, the frying in KFC has been reduced to a sort of semantic issue, as if it was metaphorical all along.

Interesting, then, to see KFC sponsoring Battlestar Galactica, which so transparently substitutes “frack” for “fuck” that it almost defeats the purpose of the substititution… which, of course, is the whole idea.

KFC probably doesn’t think that their sponsorship of BSG has much semiotic significance, but it does. Hearing the fracking dialog while looking at the disingenuous KFC logo underneath it is disquieting.