Kentucky Fried Fight

Aug. 17, 2010— -- For nearly 60 years the Colonel's original recipe has kept customers coming back to KFC for the finger lickin' treat, but the brand is in trouble.

Sales have dropped in the year since KFC began its grilled chicken ad campaign and some franchise owners are now suing KFC's parent company, Yum Brands, to regain control of KFC's advertising strategy.

KFC's problems began in early 2009 with the introduction of grilled chicken to the restaurant menu. A new, aggressive ad campaign with the slogan "Unthink KFC" hit the airwaves, touting the health-conscious alternative to its famous fried chicken.

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The company then partnered with "The Oprah Winfrey Show," with the media titan offering viewers a free meal -- two pieces of grilled chicken, two sides and a biscuit. All they needed to do was download a coupon within two days of the announcement.

The response was overwhelming: Thousands of people showed up with their coupons at restaurants around the country. Some locations ran out of food.

KFC was forced to shut down the promotion and company president Roger Eaton issued an apology to customers. Franchises had to pay the cost of the giveaway themselves.

That's when KFC began losing. While sales at other chicken chains grew last year, KFC's fell 6 percent.

"I think it says people who care about nutrition have never been customers of KFC and probably have better places to go," said Dr. Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Franchisees are angry with Yum Brands for moving away from its Kentucky fried history, confusing customers with its focus on grilled chicken.

"We are fried chicken. We shouldn't be embarrassed about that," said William Eubanks, who owns 29 KFC franchises. "That's our heritage, that's our DNA, that's who we are."