With excitement rising for “Stranger Things” final season, brands are eager to step into the show’s iconic world.
KFC is the latest to join in, teaming up with Netflix for a U.K. campaign by Mother that envisions the fast-food chain’s employees braving the eerie dangers of Hawkins, Indiana, to make their deliveries – despite the town’s descent into supernatural turmoil.
In the upcoming fifth season, Hawkins is placed under military lockdown as authorities try to contain the interdimensional rifts unleashing deadly creatures across the town. Yet even that doesn’t deter a team of KFC employees, who continue pedaling through the chaos to complete their deliveries – until they, too, are pulled into the Upside Down.
The campaign promotes the rollout of a limited-edition Stranger Things menu in the U.K., featuring items like a spicy chicken burger served on a red bun and “Stranger Wings” coated in the same fiery sauce.
It also builds on Mother’s ongoing “Believe” platform for KFC, which portrays the brand as a dependable source of comfort and familiarity in an increasingly unpredictable world. KFC’s campaign is part of a broader wave of brand tie-ins celebrating the show’s final season, alongside collaborations with Doritos and Target, as marketers aim to connect with the nostalgia-fueled fanbase before the series comes to an end.
“KFC and Stranger Things fans know that when you have an obsession, you’ll stop at nothing for it,” Kate Tipper, marketing director at KFC UKI, said in a statement. “It’s this obsessive nature that makes this collaboration a perfect match, placing KFC authentically at the heart of the Stranger Things world.”
