Reba McEntire named first female Colonel Sanders by KFC

The singer/actress is promoting the new Smoky Mountain BBQ chicken

KFC has enlisted Reba McEntire as the first ever Colonel Sanders in a new ad campaign. McEntire has teamed with the fast food giant to launch their new Smoky Mountain BBQ flavor in commercials that start airing on January 28th.

McEntire looks unrecognizable in the ad as she’s dressed just like founder Colonel Harland Sanders wearing a white wig and mustache, his signature glasses and sequined white suit. The ad has McEntire performing a new jingle on stage at a bar as Sanders, singing, “I’m Colonel Sanders, the same as always. I’m definitely not a woman,” as she tosses a white cowboy hat to her famous self sitting in the audience.

“I thought the transformation was really funny,” McEntire, who will appear in the ads until the end of April, tells the Associated Press. “I got a big kick out of it.”

McEntire was approached about doing so in December, saying, “I said ‘Holy smokes!’ KFC has been a part of my life forever.”

A rotating cast of famous names have portrayed the Colonel since 2015, including comedians Darrell Hammond, Norm MacDonald, Rob Riggle and Jim Gaffigan. However, McEntire is the first famous female and musician to do it. She is also the first woman in KFC’s nearly 90-year-history to depict the Colonel as the company claims the “best historical minds at KFC” could not remember a woman ever having stepped into the role.

Andrea Zahumensky is KFC’s new chief marketing director who oversaw the ad. She says she’s trying to turn the brand around with McEntire’s version. “I think this is going to be our most-loved Colonel yet,” she states.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwzoDS3zL_4

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com