When a brand changes its slogan, it’s usually part of a new marketing strategy geared at refreshing the brand’s identity with consumers and improving its visibility in the marketplace. But one recent slogan update seems to imply that something else entirely is going on: Popeyes just quietly changed their slogan from “Love That Chicken” to “Tolerate That Chicken.”
Uh, what? Why does it feel like this must have been legally mandated?
As of yesterday, all of Popeyes’ promotional materials and social media has been updated to reflect their new slogan, “Tolerate That Chicken,” which uses the exact same font and design as the old slogan did, with no additional announcements or changes to explain the baffling switch. Generally speaking, fast food brands don’t want their customers to think of their offerings as something they merely “tolerate,” which strongly suggests that Popeyes did this with a gun to their head.
The particular type of legal pressure that caused Popeyes to overhaul their slogan is anyone’s guess. Did a Popeyes competitor file legal action against them? Did the US government receive thousands of complaints that the old slogan didn’t accurately reflect the quality of Popeyes chicken? Did a powerful attorney somewhere have a bad experience with Popeyes and use all of their power to force this change?
Yep, the reason for this subtle but significant modification to Popeyes’ slogan is definitely a head-scratcher.
Popeyes is mostly a place you choose to eat when the Panda Express line at the tollway oasis is too long, so it’s doubtful this will have much impact on their business, but all eyes are on their next move to see if they drop any other clues as to what exactly is going on. Will they start replacing the smiles on the people eating their chicken in their promotional materials with neutral expressions? Will their drive-through cashiers start saying, “Welcome to Popeyes, what can I make you tolerate today?” Whatever happens next, this is one mystery we’re going to be working overtime to try and crack.
