KFC And Huawei Release Limited Edition, Colonel Sanders-Themed Android Phone

KFC celebrated its 30^th anniversary in China and commemorated the event by releasing on Friday a limited-edition Huawei Android smartphone. Only 5,000 models were available for purchase.

The fried chicken company announced the bright red smartphone, via the Weibo website. Founded in 1987, Chinese telecommunication company Huawei started the same year that KFC first opened in China. KFC opened 5,000 locations in China as of 2017.

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A video on KFC's Weibo page emphasized the history of both brands.

Campaign Asia released the specifics of the phone, and Huawei reportedly used the Enjoy 7 Plus model for the collaboration. The phone had a 12-megapixel camera, a 5.5-inch 720p display, 3GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. It's priced at $161.91 (1,099 yuan) and can be purchased on KFC China's online store Wednesday.

Huawei reportedly equipped the phones with 10,000 "K dollars," digital money used by KFC in China. The phone also came pre-installed with a music app called K-music, which enabled users to share playlists on the restaurant’s jukebox.

Steven Li, senior vice president of KFC marketing, spoke with Campaign Asia regarding the collaboration.

"Between KFC and Huawei, one came from abroad had and settled its roots in China. The other (Huawei) originated here and later expanded its footprint globally," said Li. "Both brands have witnessed the rise of China in these 30 years, and both embody the spirit of the times. Our collaboration is a homage to the era."

Li talked also discussed the K-Music’s success and how important having music on demand was to the customer.

"Music is part of the lifestyle of young consumers and they want music to be on-demand. Word-of-mouth and initial response from consumers (for K-music) has been very positive," Li said.

KFC also released a clothing line Wednesday. The fried chicken chain debuted a new website called KFC Ltd. It featured apparel and other limited-edition merchandise priced as low as $8. A Colonel Sanders pillowcase, a drumstick chicken T-Shirt and framed artwork were sold on the site. Steve Kelly, KFC's U.S. director of media, talked about KFC and why the company released a clothing line in and Adweek Wednesday.

"KFC and Colonel Sanders have been American pop culture icons for more than 70 years," Kelly said. "Our fans were craving a way to embrace the fried chicken lifestyle, and KFC Ltd. gives them the opportunity to let their colonel flag fly."

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Apparently molded from a meteorite, a chicken sandwich sculpture on the site retailed for $20,000. KFC described the meteorite sculpture on the website.

"This one-of-a-kind meteorite is a real, space-made meteorite from space," said the company. "Sculpted by the harsh elements that exist in the vastness of space (and then later by three artists named Haley, Scott, and Mike), this Zinger chicken sandwich-shaped meteorite has all the Zinger chicken sandwich-shaped details you've come to expect from the Zinger chicken sandwich. Don't miss your chance to own this very significant and very heavy piece of chicken sandwich space travel history."