By Brian Meyer
The Buffalo News
BUFFALO, N.Y. — The company that made Colonel Sanders famous is using an offbeat strategy to promote its “New Fiery Grilled Wings” — and KFC didn’t want to leave the home of the Buffalo Wing out of the bucket.
The world’s most popular chicken restaurant chain has dangled dollars in front of some cash-challenged municipalities. Cities that allow KFC to advertise one of its newest menu items on fire hydrants and on fire extinguishers that are in public buildings are rewarded with cash donations. The money must be used for fire safety equipment, repairs or improvements.
Early on, Buffalo officials ruled out any plan that would have seen KFC’s “New Fiery Grilled Wings” logo plastered on fire hydrants.
“We’re too big of a city for that,” said Fire Commissioner Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. “We don’t want it put on any city-owned properties.”
But as part of Fire Prevention Month, Whitfield is asking the Common Council to approve a compromise. KFC would give Buffalo $2,500 to buy up to 100 new fire extinguishers. These safety devices, which would bear the wings logo, would be donated to businesses and homeowners using a yet-to-be announced distribution system.
The extinguishers would have to be displayed in commercial settings for at least 30 days in order to comply with KFC’s requirement that the ads be exposed to plenty of eyeballs, Whitfield said. But none would be placed in city firehouses.
Whitfield views the unique promotion as a win-win for all parties.
But some Council members aren’t so sure.
Their concerns include the perception that Buffalo would be promoting the product of a national chain in a city that is universally known for its chicken wing joints.
“We would be endorsing KFC’s wings for what amounts to chicken feed,” grumbled Council Finance Committee Chairman Michael P. Kearns.
His committee plans to meet with fire officials at 10 a.m. Tuesday to further discuss the issue.
While Kearns and other lawmakers said they’re relieved that Whitfield isn’t pushing to have KFC advertisements placed on city property, they still think the negatives may outweigh the positives.
“There’s the tackiness factor,” Delaware Council Member Michael J. LoCurto said Friday. “You’re promoting a product on safety equipment.”
Council Majority Leader Richard A. Fontana owns a restaurant, and he worries that the promotion could foster some confusion.
“You’re not supposed to use certain fire extinguishers in a grease fire,” he said.
Other concerns involve fairness. LoCurto wondered whether the city should solicit bids from various entities before it agrees to involve itself in any promotions.
A spokeswoman for KFC insisted that the program, which was ramped up in January, focuses more on helping communities than on promoting its wings.
“This is all tied to fire prevention,” said Laurie Schalow, who works in the Public Relations Department of the Louisville, Ky., company.
Schalow said four cities were selected among numerous applicants for the donations. Only one municipality — Brazil, Ind., opted to display the logo on its fire hydrants. The other communities that received donations were Cleveland and San Angelo, Texas.
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