2025 Winner

KFC wanted to connect with NBA fans – in a way that didn’t rely on a sponsorship deal. “Finger Lickin’ Open Endorsement” merged the brand’s tagline “Finger Lickin’ Good” with the finger-licking motion associated with basketball celebrations to transform the gesture into an act of fan engagement. The campaign called for fans to shoot a bucket, do the “finger lickin’ good” celly and share the video to get paid in KFC.

To create buzz for the campaign, a live Colonel Sanders was placed courtside at an NBA game. The stunt made headlines and the campaign took off, with fans, streamers and rec-league players embracing the gesture – as did NCAA athletes during March Madness and even NBA sensation Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.

More than 1,000 people joined the endorsement. KFC generated $17,485,000 in earned media value and captured the number-one share of voice
during All-Star Weekend.

Credits

Agency: Courage
Founder, CCO: Dhaval Bhatt
Founder, CCO: Joel Holtby
Partner, CSO: Tom Kenny
Partner, President; Niki Sahni
Executive Creative Director: Raul Garcia
Creative Director: Hemal Dhanjee
Creative Director: Steve Ierullo
Group Account Director: Alex Karayannides
Account Director: Kyron Sobers
Account Supervisor: Atria Ghosh
Group Strategy Director: Rami Dudin
Executive Producer: Clair Galea
Producer: Katie Fowler
Producer, Post Producer: Sunaina Arora
Editor: Marcus Barrie

Client: KFC
Chief Marketing Officer: Katherine Bond Debecki
Director, Marketing: Azim Akhtar
Brand Manager: Jordan Sequeira

Production: Merchant
Director: Jason Jeffrey
DP: Adam Marsden
Executive Producer: Ian Webb
Executive Producer: Hayley Taylor
Producer: Maryna Petrenko
Production Designer: Jessica O’Reilly
1st AD: Ron Parrell
Production Manager: Kyle Lauzon
Stylist: Adelle Gaudet
Hair & MUA Artist: Cristina Rubiales
Sean O’Connor: Foodstylist

Transfer, Online: Alter Ego
Colourist: Lily Henry
Colour Assistant: Daniel Saavedra
VFX Lead: Eric Perrella
VFX Artists: Sebastian Boros, Victoria Gaston
VFX Assistant: Nupur Desai
Senior Motion Designer: Edward Deng
Producer: Mariya Guzova
Executive Producer: Hilda Pereira

Audio: Vapor Music
Creative Director: Ted Rosnick
Sound Engineer: Ryan Chalmers
Producer: Matilde Mata
Executive Producer: Lindsey Serlin

Media: Wavemaker
CEO: Nikki Stone
Managing Director: Dan Boem
Associate Director: Daniel Balment
Client Business Manager: Blanca Gamez

PR: Narrative
EVP, Managing Director: Cathy Mitchell
Vice President: Lauren Baswick