While it has become cliché to talk about living in unprecedented times, KFC and Mother wanted to contrast that refrain with entertainment for audiences feeling the downtrodden mood of the nation, said Neasa McGuinness, the agency’s head of strategy. 

“The simple consumer insight is that most people yearn for things that are real and relatable—stuff they can depend on and things that offer up a bit of light relief,” she said. “We’re always at our best as a brand when we seem to capture what everyone else is thinking, but nobody is saying.”