The Subservient Chicken
Encyclopedia
The Subservient Chicken is an advertising program created to promote international fast food restaurant
chain
Burger King
's TenderCrisp
chicken sandwich and their "Have it Your Way" campaign. Created for the Miami-based advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky
(abbreviated to CP+B) by The Barbarian Group
, the program featured a viral marketing
website, television and print campaigns and a one-time pay-per-view
program. The program was similar to other marketing campaigns created by CP+B for Burger King, including the Coq Roq
, Ugoff
, and Sith Sense.
for Burger King. In the ad, a man is sitting in his living room directing a person in a chicken suit
to behave in any way he wants. The tag line was "Chicken the way you like it." According to Jeff Benjamin, an Executive Creative Director at CP+B, the campaign evolved from a television idea into an interactive one. After the success of the Subservient Chicken, Burger King used the character in several subsequent advertising campaigns.
. The site takes literally the advertising slogan "Get chicken just the way you like it". The site launched on April 8, 2004. The site was created for CP+B and BK by The Barbarian Group
and is hosted at GSI
in Kansas City, Missouri
.
"The guy in the suit was originally an actor, but he was claustrophobic in the suit, so he wouldn’t do it. And we had to use one of the costume’s designers... He would do about six moves and then we would have to fan him off because he would get so hot in the costume," says CP+B ECD Jeff Benjamin.
There are more than three hundred commands that the Subservient Chicken will respond to, including:
There is also an easter egg in the program: if the user types Crispin, the company name, into the box, three people, supposedly the creators, will pop up from behind a sofa and then pop back down again. If he/she types it three times, they will actually get up and walk past the camera.
If the user types in the name "Jeff Benjamin" an Executive Creative Director at CP+B,the chicken will hold up a "rock on hand". The chicken will also perform this same act when told "I love you" or you type in the name of some rock bands like "Metallica".
When told to perform sex acts, take off his mask
, or do anything the Subservient Chicken considers offensive, the chicken walks up to the camera
and shakes a scolding chicken finger in disappointment. However, when asked to show his male genitalia, the chicken walks up to the camera and shows his pelvis. When told to eat food from rival fast food chain McDonald's
, he approaches the camera and places his finger down his throat, when told to eat Burger King he has a more positive response. If he is told to 'join PETA
', he performs the same action as when a 'dizzy' command is typed in. The chicken responds to the command "smoke" by smoking, but when told to "smoke a bong" he waggles his finger scoldingly. If told to "choke" he attempts to strangle himself. When commanded to do anything with the word "me" in it, he approaches the camera and looks at the player, turning his head a few times. When told to take off his costume, the chicken shows that he is stuck inside his costume. When asked to "drink a Coke" he will walk to a bookcase behind the couch and drink a Coke.If the player tells him to "Go Vegan". he approaches the camera and give you a thumbs down.
If asked to play World of Warcraft, he will laugh.
When "taco" or "random" is typed in he performs a dance with a lady that also appears behind the couch if the user types "crispin".
When asked "do you like hamburgers" he rubs his belly with delight.
When 23 skidoo is typed, the chicken slides on his knees toward the camera.
Fast food restaurant
A fast food restaurant, also known as a Quick Service Restaurant or QSR within the industry itself, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service...
chain
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
's TenderCrisp
Tendercrisp
The TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by Burger King, an international fast-food restaurant chain. It is one of their "indulgent" products....
chicken sandwich and their "Have it Your Way" campaign. Created for the Miami-based advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky , a member of publicly-traded MDC Partners, is an advertising agency that currently employs around 1,000 people. It was founded in 1965 by Sam Crispin.. Crispin then became partners with Chuck Porter and Alex Bogusky...
(abbreviated to CP+B) by The Barbarian Group
The Barbarian Group
The Barbarian Group is an interactive marketing firm founded in Boston, but currently headquartered in New York, with offices in Boston and San Francisco. Founded in 2001, the company reportedly works with traditional agencies and clients on the development of ordinary and viral web marketing...
, the program featured a viral marketing
Viral marketing
Viral marketing, viral advertising, or marketing buzz are buzzwords referring to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses...
website, television and print campaigns and a one-time pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
program. The program was similar to other marketing campaigns created by CP+B for Burger King, including the Coq Roq
Coq Roq
Coq Roq, also typeset as COQ ROQ, and pronounced "Cock Rock", was an advertising program created in late 2004 to promote international fast food restaurant chain Burger King's chicken product, BK Chicken Fries...
, Ugoff
Ugoff
Ugoff is a fictional character, played by actor Daniel Raymont, in a 2004 ad campaign for Burger King directed by Roman Coppola with music composed by Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh. It was to promote the new "Fire-Grilled Salads" and the paper "Salad Pouch" which was used to keep the chicken and...
, and Sith Sense.
History
The TenderCrisp sandwich was first advertised using the Subservient Chicken character in a commercial called the Subservient Chicken Vest. The commercial was the first in a series of ads for the sandwich utilizing a line of viral marketing promotions by Crispin Porter + BoguskyCrispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky , a member of publicly-traded MDC Partners, is an advertising agency that currently employs around 1,000 people. It was founded in 1965 by Sam Crispin.. Crispin then became partners with Chuck Porter and Alex Bogusky...
for Burger King. In the ad, a man is sitting in his living room directing a person in a chicken suit
Chicken suit
A chicken suit is a novelty costume that exaggerates the features of chickens. Chicken suits usually fit someone up to 6' 1" and 200 lbs.A chicken suit can be used at parties and other events or as a costume for school mascots...
to behave in any way he wants. The tag line was "Chicken the way you like it." According to Jeff Benjamin, an Executive Creative Director at CP+B, the campaign evolved from a television idea into an interactive one. After the success of the Subservient Chicken, Burger King used the character in several subsequent advertising campaigns.
Other advertising programs
-
- Fantasy Ranch
- The TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich was promoted in the United States by a 2005 television advertising campaign directed by David LaChapelleDavid LaChapelleDavid LaChapelle is a photographer and director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography, and is noted for his surreal, unique, sexualized, and often humorous style.-Early life:...
and featuring recording artist Darius RuckerDarius RuckerDarius Rucker is an American musician. He first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld and Dean Felber...
(of Hootie and the Blowfish) singing a country-style jingle to the tune of "Big Rock Candy MountainBig Rock Candy MountainBig Rock Candy Mountain, first recorded by Harry McClintock in 1928, is a song about a hobo's idea of paradise, a modern version of the medieval concept of Cockaigne...
." The ad also starred television presenter Brooke BurkeBrooke BurkeBrooke Burke Charvet , better known by her maiden name, Brooke Burke, is an actress, dancer, model and television personality...
, model Vida GuerraVida GuerraVida Guerra is a Cuban-born American glamour model. Her first notable appearance was in the U.S. edition of FHM magazine in December 2002; since then, she has modeled for many other men's magazines....
, and members of the Dallas Cowboys CheerleadersDallas Cowboys CheerleadersThe Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys.- 1960s :The original cheerleading squad was a made up of a male-female group called the CowBelles & Beaux. The group made its sidelines debut in 1960 during the Cowboys' inaugural...
.
-
- ChickenFight.com
- With the introduction of the Spicy TenderCrisp Sandwich, CP+B created the Chicken Fight ad program. The ads featured a forthcoming boxing match billed as The two "cockfightCockfightA cockfight is a blood sport between two roosters , held in a ring called a cockpit. Cockfighting is now illegal throughout all states in the United States, Brazil, Australia and in most of Europe. It is still legal in several U.S. territories....
ing chickens" between two people in chicken suits, one as "TC" and the other as "Spicy", a second chicken with orange "plumage". The actual "fight" was broadcast as one time short on DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
.
-
- Big Buckin' Chicken/Big Huckin' Chicken
- In March 2006, Big Buckin' Chicken commercial for TendercrispTendercrispThe TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by Burger King, an international fast-food restaurant chain. It is one of their "indulgent" products....
Cheesy Bacon Chicken Sandwich featured the Subservient Chicken again. The TV ad showed 8 mm8 mm film8 mm film is a motion picture film format in which the filmstrip is eight millimeters wide. It exists in two main versions: the original standard 8mm film, also known as regular 8 mm or Double 8 mm, and Super 8...
-style footage of a cowboy riding the chicken in a rodeoRodeoRodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
while people on the sideline cheer on. An accompanying jingle states, "Big buckin' chicken/you are big, you are chicken." The voice over concludes that "the only way to beat it, is to eat it." The character was reused in another TenderCrisp ad riding a dirt bike, titled Big Huckin' Chicken.
Internet
In addition to the commercials, there is "The Subservient Chicken" web page. On the page, a man in a chicken costume performs a wide range of actions based on a user's input, showing pre-recorded footage and appearing like an interactive webcamWebcam
A webcam is a video camera that feeds its images in real time to a computer or computer network, often via USB, ethernet, or Wi-Fi.Their most popular use is the establishment of video links, permitting computers to act as videophones or videoconference stations. This common use as a video camera...
. The site takes literally the advertising slogan "Get chicken just the way you like it". The site launched on April 8, 2004. The site was created for CP+B and BK by The Barbarian Group
The Barbarian Group
The Barbarian Group is an interactive marketing firm founded in Boston, but currently headquartered in New York, with offices in Boston and San Francisco. Founded in 2001, the company reportedly works with traditional agencies and clients on the development of ordinary and viral web marketing...
and is hosted at GSI
GSI
GSI may refer to:* Several geographical or geological organisations:** Geological Survey of India** Geological Survey of Iran** Geographical Society of Ireland** Geological Survey of Ireland** Geological Survey of Israel...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
"The guy in the suit was originally an actor, but he was claustrophobic in the suit, so he wouldn’t do it. And we had to use one of the costume’s designers... He would do about six moves and then we would have to fan him off because he would get so hot in the costume," says CP+B ECD Jeff Benjamin.
There are more than three hundred commands that the Subservient Chicken will respond to, including:
- Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
dance moves, such as "moonwalkMoonwalk (dance)The moonwalk or backslide is a dance technique that presents the illusion of the dancer being pulled backwards while attempting to walk forward. A popping move, it became most popular around the world after Michael Jackson executed the dance move during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown 25:...
" - Throw PillowThrow pillowA throw pillow, or toss pillow, is a small, decorative type of pillow. Throw pillows are usually placed on sofas or armchairs but are also frequently used on beds and day beds. Throw pillows serve both an aesthetic and a functional purpose. Decorative pillows are commonly used to tie in color...
- RiverdanceRiverdanceRiverdance is a theatrical show consisting of traditional Irish stepdancing, notable for its rapid leg movements while body and arms are kept largely stationary. It originated as an interval performance during the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, a moment that is still considered a significant...
or irish dance - The "elephantElephantElephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
" - Bowl
- Tango
- Show teeth
- Be an airplane
- Shake your booty
- The Robot
- Lay eggEgg (biology)An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
- Walk Like an EgyptianWalk Like an Egyptian"Walk Like an Egyptian" is a number-one hit from the album Different Light by The Bangles in 1986.-Origin:Liam Sternberg wrote the song after seeing people on a ferry walking awkwardly to keep their balance, which reminded him of figures in Ancient Egyptian reliefs. The opening lyrics state, "All...
- YogaYogaYoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
- Sleep
- Rage
- Raise the roof
- Dog
- Fall
- Can I eat you?
- Squat
- Peck Ground
- Fight
- Roshambo
- Read a bookBookA book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
from his bookcaseBookcaseA bookcase, or bookshelf, is a piece of furniture, almost always with horizontal shelves, used to store books. A bookcase consists of a unit including two or more shelves which may not all be used to contain books or other printed materials. Shelves may be fixed or adjustable to different positions...
. - Have a drink of water
- Blow your nose
- Barrel roll
- Begone or go away
- Turn off the lights
- Jump rope
- Hide behind sofa
- Golf Swing
- Try to do a headstand
- Hide
- Leave
- Sit
- Watch TV
- Pick your nose & eat it
- Spin
- Do the YMCAYMCA (song)"Y.M.C.A." is a song recorded by American disco group Village People. It was released in 1978 as the only single from the album Cruisin. The song reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts in early 1979 and reached No.1 in the UK around the same time, becoming the group's biggest hit...
- Fly
- Handstand
- Hula hoop
- Cartwheel
- Push-up
- Electric Slide
- Air Guitar
- Tap Dance
- Referee
- Bowl
- Poke your eye out
- 3 point stance
- Paint
- Backflip
- Turn off the lights
- Sing
- Die
- Pee on the couch
- Pee in the corner
- Pee like a dog
- Do the splits
- headbang
- Pray
- Shakespeare
- Headbutt
- March like a German Soldier
- Swim
- Kick an imaginary soccer ball.
- Jump
- Act like a dog
- Puke
- Fart
- Hug
- Cabbage Patch
- Tai Chi
- Hula
- Ballet
- Breakdance
- Make a sandwich
- Be a monkey
- Macarana
- Kiss
- Go to sleep
- Flap around
- Be a duck
There is also an easter egg in the program: if the user types Crispin, the company name, into the box, three people, supposedly the creators, will pop up from behind a sofa and then pop back down again. If he/she types it three times, they will actually get up and walk past the camera.
If the user types in the name "Jeff Benjamin" an Executive Creative Director at CP+B,the chicken will hold up a "rock on hand". The chicken will also perform this same act when told "I love you" or you type in the name of some rock bands like "Metallica".
When told to perform sex acts, take off his mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
, or do anything the Subservient Chicken considers offensive, the chicken walks up to the camera
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
and shakes a scolding chicken finger in disappointment. However, when asked to show his male genitalia, the chicken walks up to the camera and shows his pelvis. When told to eat food from rival fast food chain McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, he approaches the camera and places his finger down his throat, when told to eat Burger King he has a more positive response. If he is told to 'join PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it claims to be the largest animal rights...
', he performs the same action as when a 'dizzy' command is typed in. The chicken responds to the command "smoke" by smoking, but when told to "smoke a bong" he waggles his finger scoldingly. If told to "choke" he attempts to strangle himself. When commanded to do anything with the word "me" in it, he approaches the camera and looks at the player, turning his head a few times. When told to take off his costume, the chicken shows that he is stuck inside his costume. When asked to "drink a Coke" he will walk to a bookcase behind the couch and drink a Coke.If the player tells him to "Go Vegan". he approaches the camera and give you a thumbs down.
If asked to play World of Warcraft, he will laugh.
When "taco" or "random" is typed in he performs a dance with a lady that also appears behind the couch if the user types "crispin".
When asked "do you like hamburgers" he rubs his belly with delight.
When 23 skidoo is typed, the chicken slides on his knees toward the camera.
External links
- The Subservient Chicken
- Snopes Urban Legends: Subservient Chicken
- Word on Word of Mouth explaining Subservient Chicken
- Subservient Chicken Verb List
- Download SC
Parodies and similar sites
- I Do Dog Tricks
- Submissive Dimitri - Same concept to promote an Air Guitar shop
- Subservient President Launched at the Democratic National Convention during the 2004 presidential campaign