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KFC Celebrates 40th Anniversary of the Bucket
With Contest for Couples Married in 1957
*****
40 Couples To Win Anniversary Parties for 40 People
in ‘KFC's Buckets of Love Contest’
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Grand Prize for One Couple: A ‘Second Honeymoon’ Cruise

LOUISVILLE, KY., Sept. 9, 1997 -- The year was 1957. "All Shook Up" was Billboard's top pop single of the year. The USSR launched Sputnik. The first Ford Edsel rolled off the assembly line. American Bandstand debuted on TV. And Kentucky Fried Chicken sold its first bucket of chicken "to go" at a restaurant in Salt Lake City.

While the Edsel drove straight into oblivion, KFC's bucket became an icon, spanning generations of chicken lovers. In testament to that fact, a 1988 graphics and symbols study by Advertising Age and Arizona State University found that the KFC bucket and the mug (or face) of KFC founder Colonel Harland Sanders were two of the three most-recognized symbols in the United States.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the bucket, KFC today launches "KFC's Buckets of Love Contest" for couples married in 1957. Today's date was chosen for the announcement in honor of Colonel Sanders, who was born 107 years ago on Sept. 9, 1890.

"A bucket of KFC chicken has brought a barrel of fun to four decades of family picnics, reunions and everyday meals," said Randy Gier, KFC's senior vice president-marketing. "Lots of great things happened in 1957", including more than one million marriages in the United States. As KFC celebrates the 40th anniversary of the bucket, we are honoring couples who have enjoyed 40 years of togetherness."

40 Parties for 40 Guests and One "Second Honeymoon" Cruise

One grand prize will be awarded -- a "Second Honeymoon" cruise of the couple's choice either in the Caribbean, or on a Mississippi River steamboat. Up to 40 couples will be chosen from the entrants to win enough KFC food for an anniversary party for 40 guests.

To enter "KFC's Buckets of Love Contest," couples who tied the knot in 1957 and remain married today are asked to share the secret ingredient of their successful marriage by mailing a brief description of their secret on a postcard or letter, along with their full names, mailing address, daytime phone number and 1957 wedding date to: KFC's Buckets of Love Contest, c/o OA&R, 1901 L Street N.W., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036. Entries must be postmarked by Sept. 30, 1997.

Complete contest details are available by calling toll-free 1-888-KFC-4EVER (1-888-532-4383).

Since its founding by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, KFC has been "America's Leading Kitchen for Convenient Meals," serving customers delicious, already-prepared complete family meals, snacks and sandwiches at affordable prices. There are more than 9,900 KFC outlets in 76 countries around the world serving nearly seven million customers each day. Kentucky Fried Chicken Corp. (KFC), based in Louisville, Ky., is the world's most popular chicken restaurant chain specializing in both fried and roasted chicken pieces and homestyle sides.

Editor's Note:
Photos available via NewsCom, 305-448-8411 or click here to download (you must have an account set up with NewsCom).
B-roll package of vintage commercials and photos from KFC archives available by calling Jenifer Shockley or Jay Stilwell at (202)452-9476.

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