Kentucky Fried Chicken is pausing its longtime “It’s finger lickin’ good” slogan amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, the fast-food chain is now distancing itself from the popular tagline, which encourages what could be seen as dangerous behavior in the present day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines.

On Monday, KFC released a video on its YouTube page which shows images of the slogan blurred out on billboards and chicken buckets. The ad ends with the message, “That thing we always say? Ignore it. For now.”

Although KFC is scrapping “It's finger lickin’ good” as a result of the pandemic, this isn’t the end of the self-proclaimed “inappropriate” slogan that has been the brand’s mainstay for over 60 years. KFC said it plans to bring back the catchphrase when the time is right.

“We find ourselves in a unique situation - having an iconic slogan that doesn’t quite fit in the current environment,” KFC’s global chief marketing officer, Catherine Tan-Gillespie, said in a statement. “While we are pausing the use of It’s Finger Lickin’ Good, rest assured the food craved by so many people around the world isn’t changing one bit.”

The company’s move to pause its use of the slogan comes after the successful release of their Crocs x Kentucky Fried Chicken shoes in July. KFC partnered with the shoe company to produce clogs that looked and smelled like Colonel Sander’s famous fried chicken.

The limited-edition shoes, which featured a fried chicken pattern and two Jibbitz charms that looked like fried chicken drumsticks, sold out shortly after releasing online.

KFC
A bucket of KFC Extra Crispy fried chicken is displayed in San Rafael, California, on Oct. 30, 2006. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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