H.A.R.L.A.N.D | Human Assisted Robotic Linguistic Animatronic Networked Device
H.A.R.L.A.N.D, the Human Assisted Robotic Linguistic Animatronic Networked Device is KFC’s latest stunt for NFCD (National Fried Chicken Day) and it’s a robot designed to take drive-thru orders. The robot translate the responses from the cashier into Colonel Sanders-speak, with a slight delay.
H.A.R.L.A.N.D | Another marketing campaign by Wieden + Kennedy
KFC is known for its sometimes weird marketing campaigns like for example the sunscreen that smells like fried chicken but also for using technology, like for example the facial recognition technology used by KFC China. H.A.R.L.A.N.D is created by marketing agency Wieden + Kennedy and according to Adweek, executives at Wieden + Kennedy confirmed that the robot was used to take orders at an actual KFC location. This bot was developed by The Lodge, the design engineering group within W+K. The bot itself, and the whole concept of an animatronic order-taking Colonel, is a bit strange. And so W+K is leaning into that with its messaging around it, including a Funny Or Die video, which is more of a mockumentary. See video below. But W+K states that it’s a serious project and that they will continue to experiment with this kind of technology.
