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# Millennial-Targeted CGI Mascots
KFC Colonel Sanders is Now a Digital Influencer on Instagram

By Laura McQuarrie | Published 2019-04-11 | Marketing
Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kfc-colonel-sanders
References: [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/BwDCzv6Acey/) & [kfc](https://www.kfc.com/)

Some leading brands across the fashion and entertainment industries have been quick to adopt [CGI](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/find-your-courage) models for their campaigns and [KFC](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/chef-colonel-sanders) is parodying this idea with a digital influencer of its own—who is, of course, none other than KFC Colonel Sanders.

Over the last few years, KFC has had fun with inviting a variety of pop culture figures to take on the role of its mascot. Now, a computer-generated version of the Colonel has been created to resonate with Millennial audiences. With its CGI model, the fried chicken chain is poking fun at influencer marketing culture, as the digital Colonel Sanders appears significantly younger than usual and shares captions on [Instagram](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/kfc-x-fiiiiiingers) like: "I may be a restaurant mogul and international inspiration but I'm still just a kid who loves being in the kitchen #humble."

## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter)

- Score: 6.6/10
- Popularity: 94% | Activity: 97% | Freshness: 8%
- Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women
- Primary generations: Gen Z, Millennial
- Top markets: North America

## Categories

[Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Marketing](https://www.trendhunter.com/marketing) > [Publicity Stunts](https://www.trendhunter.com/publicitystunts)

## Key Themes

### Key Themes Behind This Trend

- **CGI Mascots:** Brands across industries are using CGI mascots as a way to engage with younger audiences, creating disruptive innovation opportunities in the digital advertising and animation industries.
- **Parodying Influencer Marketing:** Parodying influencer culture through CGI models presents a potential disruption to the social media, marketing, and advertising industries, as it challenges the authenticity and impact of influencers.
- **Humanizing Brand Mascots:** Humanizing brand mascots through CGI models presents a potential disruption to the branding and advertising industries by creating more interactive, relatable, and diverse brand personalities.

### Where This Applies

- **Digital Advertising:** The use of CGI models in advertising campaigns presents a disruptive innovation opportunity in the digital advertising industry, allowing for more creative and interactive ad content.
- **Animation:** CGI mascots present a disruptive innovation opportunity in the animation industry, providing new and exciting ways to bring brand mascots to life.
- **Fast Food:** The use of humorous and relatable brand mascots, including CGI models, presents a potential disruption in the fast food industry by allowing for more engaging and memorable brand experiences.

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