Oprah Winfrey Chicken Snafu Leads to Irate Customers

Kentucky Fried Chicken partnered with Oprah Winfrey this week in a chicken giveaway that resulted in long lines and angry, turned-away customers.

KFC coupons were announced on Oprah’s talk show. Consumers could go to the KFC grilled chicken website to download a coupon for a free, two-piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal. But the combination of Oprah and free food proved to be too much for the website, which became overwhelmed by downloads, reports AdAge. Some stores have been turning away coupon holders. One store, in Manhattan, was treated to a 60’s-style sit-in for refusing to honor the coupons, (per Entertainment Weekly).

The coupon campaign with Oprah - terms of which were not revealed - followed a nationwide giveaway last week that launched KFC’s grilled chicken. That giveaway resulted in 4 million pieces of free chicken being given out.

KFC is Yum Brands’ red-headed stepchild - same store sales at the chain were down 7% in the U.S. in Q1, while two of Yum’s other brands, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, were down 3% and 2% respectively - and Yum has been outspoken about its need for the grilled chicken product to work.

AdAge points out that KFC is not the first chain to get caught short by a wildly popular promotion. Quiznos faced similar problems with its Million Subs Giveaway earlier this year.