KFC's Roger Eaton upbeat in apology for grilled-chicken fiasco

When fast feeders are trying to sell you something, they roll out the corporate mascot. But when it comes time to apologize, that appears to be the president's job. In April, Domino's president Patrick Doyle was the go-to guy for the mea culpa after "team members" at a Domino's in North Carolina tried to pull off a "funny YouTube" hoax by filming themselves putting boogers in customers' food. Now, a month later, KFC president Roger Eaton is the public whipping boy for his chain after many locations ran out of grilled chicken last Wednesday after Oprah Winfrey pointed America to some free online coupons. How did Eaton do? Well, in his favor, he looks directly at the camera, which is a nice change from Doyle, who appeared to be addressing the offscreen guy who holds the boom mike. Eaton's main problem is that he doesn't sound all that Kentucky. He's apparently from South Africa, and his strange-to-Americans accent has already been parodied in another unfunny YouTube hoax. Aside from that, Doyle is way too cheerful. You messed up, mate! Stop making it sound like you're selling us a used car.

—Posted by Todd Wasserman