The Subservient Chicken is an advertising program created to promote international

fast food restaurant A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically ...

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

TenderCrisp The TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchisee, Hungry Jack's. It is one of their "indulgent" products. The TenderCrisp sandwich is part of a series of sandwiches ...

chicken sandwich and their "Have it Your Way" campaign. Created for the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

-based advertising firm

Crispin Porter + Bogusky Crispin Porter + Bogusky (also known as CP+B), a member of publicly traded MDC Partners, is an American advertising agency that employed around 700 people. It was founded in 1988 by Sam Crispin. Crispin then became partners with Chuck Porter ...

(CP+B) by

The Barbarian Group Barbarian is a full-service creative digital advertising agency headquartered in New York City. Since 2001, Barbarian has been creating the future faster and transforming brands through creativity, innovation and technology. Barbarian specializes ...

, the program featured a

viral marketing Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product mainly on various social media platforms. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people, much in the same way tha ...

website, television and print campaigns and a one-time

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

program. The program was similar to other marketing campaigns created by CP+B for Burger King, including the

Coq Roq BK Chicken Fries are a fried chicken product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. At the time of their introduction in 2005, the company had intended Chicken Fries to be one of their larger, adult-oriented products ...

Ugoff Ugoff is a fictional character, played by actor Daniel Raymont, in a 2004 ad campaign for Burger King directed by Roman Coppola with music composed by Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh. It was to promote the new "Fire-Grilled Salads" and the paper "S ...

, and

Sith Sense Since it was founded in 1954, international fast food chain Burger King has employed many advertising programs. During the 1970s, its advertisements included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and sever ...

History

The TenderCrisp sandwich was first advertised using the Subservient Chicken character in a commercial called ''the Subservient Chicken Vest''. The commercial was the first in a series of ads for the sandwich utilizing a line of viral marketing promotions by

for Burger King. In the ad, a man is sitting in his living room directing a person in a

chicken suit A costumed performer or suit performer wears a costume that usually, (but not always) covers the performer's face, typically to represent a non-human character such as a mascot or cartoon character. These range from theme park "walk-around" or "m ...

to behave in any way he wants. The tag line was "Chicken the way you like it." According to Jeff Benjamin, an Executive Creative Director at CP+B, the campaign evolved from a television idea into an interactive one. After the success of the Subservient Chicken, Burger King used the character in several subsequent advertising campaigns.

Other advertising programs

;Fantasy Ranch :The TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich was promoted in the United States by a 2005 television advertising campaign directed by

David LaChapelle David LaChapelle (born March 11, 1963) is an American photographer, music video director and film director. He is best known for his work in fashion, photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. His pho ...

and featuring recording artist

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

(of

Hootie and the Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

) singing a country-style jingle to the tune of "

Big Rock Candy Mountain "The Big Rock Candy Mountains", first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, is a country folk song about a hobo's idea of paradise, a modern version of the medieval concept of Cockaigne. It is a place where "hens lay soft-boiled eggs" and there ...

." The ad also starred television presenter

Brooke Burke Brooke Lisa Burke (born September 8, 1971) is an American television personality, fitness personality, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for hosting the E! Network travel show ''Wild On!'' (1999–2002), CBS' ''Rock Star'' (20 ...

, model

Vida Guerra Vida Guerra (born March 19, 1974) is a Cuban-born American glamour model and actress. Her first notable appearance was in the U.S. edition of ''FHM'' magazine in December 2002; since then, she has modeled for many other men's magazines. Early li ...

, and members of the

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (sometimes initialized as DCC, and officially nicknamed "America's Sweethearts") are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team. History 1960s During a game between the C ...

. ;ChickenFight.com :With the introduction of the Spicy TenderCrisp Sandwich, CP+B created the Chicken Fight ad program. The ads featured a forthcoming boxing match billed as ''The two "

cockfighting A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

chickens"'' between two people in chicken suits, one as "TC" and the other as "Spicy", a second chicken with orange "plumage". The actual "fight" was broadcast as one time short on

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

. ;Big Buckin' Chicken/Big Huckin' Chicken :In March 2006, ''Big Buckin' Chicken'' commercial for

Tendercrisp The TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchisee, Hungry Jack's. It is one of their "indulgent" products. The TenderCrisp sandwich is part of a series of sandwiches ...

Cheesy Bacon Chicken Sandwich featured the Subservient Chicken again. The TV ad showed 8 mm-style footage of a cowboy riding the chicken in a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

while people on the sideline cheer on. An accompanying jingle states, "Big buckin' chicken/you are big, you are chicken." The voice over concludes that "the only way to beat it, is to eat it." The character was reused in another TenderCrisp ad riding a

dirt bike The six main types of motorcycles are generally recognized as ''standard'', ''cruiser'', ''touring'', ''sports'', ''off-road'', and ''dual-purpose''. ''Sport touring'' is sometimes recognized as a seventh category or integrated with the ''touring' ...

, titled ''Big Huckin' Chicken''. ;Chicken BIG KING :In April 2014, Burger King celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Subservient Chicken in promotion of the Chicken BIG KING Sandwich. Subservient Chicken celebrated his anniversary in a short film where he trained for his return to fame after his fall into irrelevancy over the years.

Internet

In addition to the commercials, there was "The Subservient Chicken" web page. On the page, a man in a chicken costume performed a wide range of actions based on a user's input, showing pre-recorded footage and appearing like an interactive

webcam A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripheral d ...

. The site takes literally the advertising slogan "Get chicken just the way you like it". The site launched on April 8, 2004. The site was created for CP+B and BK by

and is hosted at GSI in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. "The guy in the suit was originally an actor, but he was claustrophobic in the suit, so he wouldn't do it. And we had to use one of the costume's designers... He would do about six moves and then we would have to fan him off because he would get so hot in the costume," says CP+B ECD Jeff Benjamin. There are more than three hundred commands that the Subservient Chicken responded to, including: *

moonwalk Moonwalk may refer to: Space travel * Moonwalk, an excursion on the Moon, see Moon landing ** For a specific event, see List of spacewalks and moonwalks 1965–1999 ** For a specific person, see List of people who have walked on the Moon *Extrave ...

Throw pillow A throw pillow, or toss pillow, is a small, decorative soft furnishing item made from a wide range of textiles including cotton, linen, silk, leather, microfibre, suede, chenille, and velvet. Throw pillows are a commonly used piece in interio ...

Riverdance ''Riverdance'' is a theatrical show that consists mainly of traditional Irish music and dance. With a score composed by Bill Whelan, it originated as an interval act during the Eurovision Song Contest 1994, featuring Irish dancing champions Jean ...

or Irish dance * The "elephant" *

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

* Show teeth * Be an airplane * Shake your booty * The

Robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be c ...

* Lay

egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

Walk Like an Egyptian "Walk Like an Egyptian" is a song recorded by the American band the Bangles. It was released in 1986 as the third single from the album ''Different Light''. It was the band's first number one single, being certified gold by the RIAA, and became ...

Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

* Sleep * Rage * Raise the roof * Fall * Can I eat you? * Squat * Peck Ground * Travolta *

Fight Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

* Roshambo * Read a book from his

bookcase A bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture with horizontal shelves, often in a cabinet, used to store books or other printed materials. Bookcases are used in private homes, public and university libraries, offices, schools, and bookst ...

. * Have a drink of water * Blow your nose *

Barrel roll A barrel roll is an aerial maneuver in which an airplane makes a complete rotation on both its longitudinal and lateral axes, causing it to follow a helical path, approximately maintaining its original direction. It is sometimes described as a ...

* Begone or go away *

Jump rope A skipping rope (British English) or jump rope (American English) is a tool used in the sport of skipping/jump rope where one or more participants jump over a rope swung so that it passes under their feet and over their heads. There are multi ...

* Hide behind sofa *

Golf swing The golf swing is the action by which players hit the ball in the sport of golf. The golf swing is a complex motion involving the whole body; the technicalities of the swing are known as golf stroke mechanics. There are differing opinions on what ...

* Try to do a

headstand The headstand, or sometimes head stand, is a pose that is an inversion posture of standing head down. The technique is used in different settings such as yoga, breakdancing, acrobatics and beginner gymnastics. Health risks If the headstand is no ...

* Hide * Leave * Sit * Watch TV * Pick your nose & eat it * Spin * Do the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

* Fly *

Handstand __NOTOC__ A handstand is the act of supporting the body in a stable, inverted vertical position by balancing on the hands. In a basic handstand, the body is held straight with arms and legs fully extended, with hands spaced approximately shoulder- ...

Hula hoop A hula hoop is a toy hoop that is twirled around the waist, limbs or neck. It can also be wheeled along the ground like a wheel, with careful execution. They have been used by children and adults since at least 500 BC. The modern hula hoop ...

* Cartwheel * Push-up *

Electric Slide The Electric (better known as The Electric Slide) is a four wall line dance set to Marcia Griffiths and Bunny Wailer's song "Electric Boogie". Choreographer, pianist and Broadway performer Richard L. "Ric" Silver created the dance in 1976 from a ...

Air Guitar Air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play an imaginary rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs and solos. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking m ...

Tap Dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

* Referee *

Bowl A bowl is a typically round dish or container generally used for preparing, serving, or consuming food. The interior of a bowl is characteristically shaped like a spherical cap, with the edges and the bottom forming a seamless curve. This makes ...

* Poke your eye out *

Three-point stance The three-point stance is a stance used by linemen and running backs in American football when ready for the start of a play. This stance requires one hand to touch the ground with the other arm cocked back to the thigh/hip region. The back s ...

* Paint * Throw a Football *

Backflip An acrobatic flip is a sequence of body movements in which a person leaps into the air and then rotates one or more times while airborne. Acrobatic flips are performed in acro dance, free running, gymnastics, cheerleading, high jumping, tricki ...

* Turn off the lights * Sing * Die * Pee on the couch * Pee in the corner * Pee like a dog * Do the splits * headbang * Pray * Shakespeare *

Headbutt A headbutt is a targeted strike with the head, typically (when intentional) involving the use of robust parts of the headbutter's cranium as the area of impact. The most effective headbutts strike the most sensitive areas of an opponent, such as ...

* March like a German Soldier * Swim * Kick an imaginary soccer ball. * Jump * Act like a dog * Puke * Fart * Hug * Cabbage Patch *

Tai Chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an neijia, internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and medita ...

* Hula * Ballet * Breakdance * Make a sandwich * Playboy * Be a monkey *

Macarena "Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...

* Kiss * Go to sleep * Flap around * Be a duck * Do the silly walk *

Rock, Paper, Scissors Rock paper scissors (also known by other orderings of the three items, with "rock" sometimes being called "stone," or as Rochambeau, roshambo, or ro-sham-bo) is a hand game originating in China, usually played between two people, in which each p ...

* touch toes * hop in one toe

References

External links

The Subservient Chicken
{{DEFAULTSORT:Subservient Chicken 2012 disestablishments in the United States 2014 introductions Burger King characters Burger King advertising Internet memes Fictional chickens Female characters in advertising

History

Other advertising programs

Internet

See also

References

External links