What is the name of KFC's mascot?

KFC's mascot is Colonel Sanders, the white-suited founder whose image became the chain's enduring symbol. His real name was Harland David Sanders, and he developed his fried-chicken business in Kentucky during the Great Depression.

Sanders received the honorary title “Kentucky Colonel” from Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon in 1935. It was a civic honor, not a military rank, but Sanders eventually adopted the title and dressed in a distinctive white suit, black tie, and goatee.

He began franchising his chicken recipe in 1952, and sold the company in 1964 while remaining its public ambassador. KFC advertisements continued using his likeness after his death in 1980, sometimes with actors or animated portrayals playing a fictionalized Colonel.

The Colonel is therefore both a real historical person and a carefully maintained advertising character. KFC has also used other mascots in some markets, including the animated chicken Chicky, but Colonel Sanders is the chain's standard and canonical mascot.