Popeyes Launches Its 'THAT Chicken' Brand Platform via GUT
Updated: 3 days ago
Popeyes has rolled out 'THAT Chicken from Popeyes', its first major brand platform from agency GUT, leaning into real Louisiana-kitchen cooking to reclaim its taste-and-value credentials.
What Popeyes launched
Popeyes has rolled out 'THAT Chicken from Popeyes', a new brand platform from agency GUT built on the line "There's regular fried chicken, and then there's THAT chicken." The work spotlights the chain's Louisiana kitchen operations and proprietary spice blends, aiming to reassert Popeyes' taste-and-value credentials. It is the first major platform under GUT.
The push arrives with the chain fighting for share in one of the fiercest corners of quick-service dining, where taste and value claims fly from every direction.
Why it matters
The chicken wars have never been fiercer — Raising Cane's, Chick-fil-A, Wingstop and a wave of chicken-sandwich challengers are all fighting for the same share of stomach. Popeyes rode its 2019 chicken-sandwich moment to fame but has struggled to build a durable platform since. 'THAT Chicken' is an attempt to own a feeling rather than a single product.
Our read: the strategy is distinctiveness through specificity. Instead of generic "crave" language, GUT is anchoring the brand in tangible proof points — the Louisiana kitchen, the spice blend — that competitors cannot claim. In a category where everyone says "delicious", ownable specifics are the differentiator.
What businesses should do
When your whole category makes the same claim, get specific. "Great taste" is worthless because everyone says it; a concrete, hard-to-copy detail is defensible because it is yours. Find the proof point that makes the promise believable.
And build a platform, not a campaign. Popeyes' problem was never bad ads; it was the lack of a consistent idea to return to. 'THAT Chicken' only pays off if the brand commits to it for years. Distinctiveness compounds; restarts reset the clock.
Quick FAQ
What is Popeyes' new campaign?
'THAT Chicken from Popeyes', a brand platform from agency GUT built on the line 'There's regular fried chicken, and then there's THAT chicken.'
What is it trying to achieve?
To reclaim Popeyes' best-tasting, best-value positioning by spotlighting its Louisiana kitchen and spice blends against a crowded chicken market.
Who created it?
It is the first major brand platform for Popeyes under creative agency GUT.
In a category where everyone shouts 'delicious', the winners get specific. Popeyes anchoring 'THAT Chicken' in the Louisiana kitchen and its spice blend is smart — those are proof points rivals can't borrow. Now the only mistake would be abandoning it in a year. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
When everyone claims 'great taste', specificity is the only real differentiator — and a platform only works if you stick with it.
What concrete, ownable detail proves your brand's promise better than an adjective ever could?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: MediaPost, Nation's Restaurant News.
Related reading
Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
Comments