Why does Japan celebrate Christmas with KFC?
Japan has one of the world's richest and most fascinating cultures. Many of the nation's historical customs and rituals are followed until today, contributing to its distinctive way of life and international reputation. Although most Westerners consider sushi, samurai, and sumo wrestlers as part of Japanese culture, these ideas represent only a small part of the rich Japanese culture. Did you know that Japanese Christmas is incomplete without fried chicken from KFC? Let us find out why.
Fried chicken for Christmas
Learning about the corporate promotion story that gave rise to the Japanese KFC tradition is fascinating. It feels like a Christmas fable, thanks to Takeshi Okawara, the manager of the country's first KFC. He launched a highly successful marketing campaign in the 1970s. Okawara had an idea for a "party barrel" or bucket that would be sold on Christmas fairly immediately after it had opened in 1970. He wrote it down after waking up in the middle of the night. That is how Japan's Christmas icon tradition came into existence. On December 25, millions of people line up in front of KFC and enjoy a hearty supper of KFC fried chicken, booking orders with the restaurant months in advance.
The story behind it
Some claim that Okawara used a small white lie to promote the fried chicken as a traditional American holiday dish to boost sales. He went to a Christmas party dressed as Santa Claus, and when he saw the kids enjoying it, he was inspired to create the KFC Christmas specials. Another urban legend says Okawara got the idea after overhearing a few foreign customers in his shop saying how much they missed eating turkey on Christmas. Okawara started promoting his Party Barrel to celebrate Christmas, hoping that fried chicken would make a good alternative to turkey. It gave birth to a brand-new Japanese holiday meal custom that has endured for nearly 50 years.
Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakkii, or Kentucky for Christmas, was the name KFC gave the marketing strategy when it became available nationwide in 1974. The Harvard-educated Okawara rose through the ranks of the business and became the president and CEO of KFC Japan from 1984 to 2002.
A brilliant marketing strategy
Most Japanese people identify as Shintoists (followers of an ancient religion) or Buddhists, with only 1% of the population being Christian. In Japan, Christmas is not even a declared holiday. How did KFC develop into a national Christmas custom, and how has it survived for almost 50 years?
Effective marketing is the key. Beautiful advertisements for KFC that first appeared in the 1970s and 1980s featured a family sharing a lavish meal of golden fried chicken. The notion that fried chicken was necessary for a luxurious and authentically Western Christmas quickly caught on.
The similarity between Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC and Santa Claus is also a coincidence. In Japan, the Colonel, who has a cheery fat belly and white facial hair, is seen all across the country in Santa suits in December. Every Christmas, KFC dresses up its Colonel Sanders sculptures in red-and-white Santa costumes to further highlight the resemblance.
For the past 20 years, KFC Japan has used the well-known "My Old Kentucky Home" song as the jingle for its holiday advertisements. This tune reminds people that it's the Christmas season and time to place their orders for celebratory fried chicken.