Is the kfc all hail gravy add real
Executive summary
The "All Hail Gravy" spot is a real, widely distributed chapter of KFC’s Believe platform created by Mother London and rolled out across UK and Ireland media in March 2025, including TV, digital, out‑of‑home and in‑store activity [1][2][3]. The film—featuring a ritualistic pilgrimage, a golden egg, and a gravy “baptism” that turns a person into chicken—has been published and promoted by KFC and its agency, while also provoking hundreds of public complaints that regulators reported they would not investigate [4][5][6].
1. The campaign exists and is officially by KFC and Mother London
KFC’s “All Hail Gravy” is an authorized second chapter of the brand’s Believe creative platform developed with agency Mother London and promoted as an integrated campaign spanning television, DOOH and retail activations [7][1][2]. Industry write‑ups and award entries explicitly name the work “Believe: All Hail Gravy” and describe the brief as a deliberate escalation of the surreal, symbolic style established in the prior Believe work [8][9].
2. What the ad shows — the imagery that sparked attention
The two‑minute film stages a forest pilgrimage led by a giant golden egg to a lake of KFC gravy where a participant plunges in and emerges as a piece of glorious chicken, with choreographed believers, CGI effects like drumstick‑shaped clouds and other ritual motifs used for surreal entertainment value [2][4][10]. Mother’s creative director framed the spot as intentionally illogical and symbolic—“logic is parked for 120 seconds”—which matches the ad’s overtly theatrical, mythic presentation [10].
3. Distribution and executions beyond the film
KFC amplified the spot with outdoor creative that included gravy‑doused posters and large‑format DOOH executions—Ocean Outdoor reported transforming the BFI IMAX banner into a bubbling pot of gravy—and the messaging also appears prominently across KFC’s UK digital channels where a single click leads to "All Hail Gravy" branding [3][5][2]. Trade and creative sites list the work in reels and award archives, confirming the film’s production and circulation [1][11].
4. Public reaction: viral attention and complaints
The ad generated strong reactions: some viewers and commentators accused it of mocking baptism, promoting cult imagery, or even endorsing cannibalism, and dozens or hundreds of complaints were lodged to media outlets and regulators [12][6]. Coverage in outlets like Yahoo and Beliefnet documents the backlash and quotes critics who saw the imagery as offensive to religious sensibilities [6][12].
5. Regulator and brand responses
Despite the volume of complaints reported in press coverage, the UK’s Advertising Standards context noted that the ASA had not launched a formal investigation and did not find that the ad breached advertising rules at the time of reporting, and KFC described the spot as a “modern‑day fable” celebrating fans’ passion for gravy [6][12]. KFC and Mother framed the creative intent as playful, surreal worldbuilding meant to entertain a younger audience rather than to attack religious rites [10][5].
6. How to judge “real” in this case
The question of whether the ad is “real” has two plain answers: the film and its associated executions are real, produced content from KFC and Mother that aired publicly and was deployed across channels [1][3]; separately, the controversy it stirred—public complaints and critical takes—was likewise real and documented in press reports [6][12]. Assessments about taste, offensiveness, or artistic merit are subjective and debated across outlets and audiences, but the campaign itself is verifiable and intentionally provocative [4][7].