Q: Is the fella who portrays Colonel Sanders in the KFC commercial the same one who first appeared in the earlier commercials, or is he a new one? If he is a new Colonel Sanders, why did KFC make the change?
—Sammy Hawkins, Jasper
A: Actor/comedian Jim Gaffigan is the new Colonel Harland Sanders, replacing Norm Macdonald in a KFC commercial that aired before Super Bowl 50 last month.
Macdonald had replaced Darrell Hammond as Sanders in August 2015.
Rotating the actors who play Sanders is part of KFC’s advertising strategy during a three-year campaign, thedailymeal.com, a culinary website, reported.
KFC wants “to bring the colonel back to the forefront,” a company spokesman told the website earlier this year.
The original Colonel Harland Sanders starred in commercials for what was then called Kentucky Fried Chicken.
“We get to leverage a suite of actors with their own take on it to bring to life the many dimensions of Colonel Sanders. We want our commercials … to surprise and delight, and have consumers enjoy the current ‘colonel,’ but also wonder who might portray him next.”
Q: In a recent AJC, a story says that the Candler Building was the first skyscraper in Atlanta and that the Flatiron Building is the oldest skyscraper. Which one is it?
—Danny Vento, Sandy Springs
A: The article stated that the Flatiron Building is Atlanta's oldest skyscraper and the Candler Building was Atlanta's first steel skyscraper.
The Flatiron Building, which is 11 stories, was constructed in 1897 and the Candler Building, which is 17 stories, opened in 1906.
Andy Johnston with Fast Copy News Service wrote this column. Do you have a question? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
About the Author
