KFC is known for having some pretty controversial marketing campaigns. In 2010, the fast-food company came under fire for their “Buckets for a Cure”, which was centered around pink colored fried chicken buckets with the intent of raising awareness for Breast Cancer.However, this backfired when activists pointed out the carcinogenic ingredients found in KFC, along with the fact that unhealthy eating habits can aid in the development of cancer.Believe it or not, their marketing campaigns have been getting even crazier.KFC announced that they will be giving an $11,000 college tuition grant to the first child born on September 9th named “Harland”, after their founder Colonel Harland David Sanders.“…Our iconic founder’s name was dwindling in popularity, and we couldn’t just stand idly by and let that happen.” CMO Andrea Zahumensky said, justifying the move.Touching.I for one absolutely love this campaign, and there are two main reasons why:It gets people talkingI think I read 3 articles about it wanting the full who, what, and why of this story. I couldn’t look away. It has maximum retweet-ability - essential when trying to gain the attention of Millennials.It’s highly controversial without being offensive. And not only does it create buzz with the younger crowd, but it also attracts the older parent-aged demographic, making it a versatile campaign.It’s absurdIn order to catch peoples’ attention, you’re going to have to do something pretty crazy. The crazier it is, the bigger the imprint it will leave in the minds of the consumer. The goal is to shock you enough to have you asking yourself, “is this real?” 2018 has seen an emerging pattern of this type of viral marketing, especially in the fast food industry.IHOP flipped the switch and became IHOB.Arby’s broke the Guinness world record for the world’s largest and smallest ad.Wendy’s became the Regina George of the fast-food industry with its Twitter account.And now, KFC is naming newborns.We have yet to see just how well this campaign will play out in relation to actual sales, but if anything people are talking about KFC more than ever, which is a very good sign.