You know that feeling when you're driving down a highway and you see a massive, clumsy-looking cow perched on a billboard? It's holding a paintbrush. The spelling is atrocious. "EAT MOR CHIKIN" stares back at you in jagged, black letters.
Honestly, it’s one of the weirdest success stories in advertising history.
Most people think those Chick-fil-A ads were just a cute fluke. They assume a marketing team sat in a room, thought "cows are funny," and called it a day. But the reality is way more desperate—and strategic—than that. Back in the mid-90s, Chick-fil-A was kind of an underdog. They were the "mall food" brand. If you wanted a chicken sandwich, you went to the food court.
But they wanted to build standalone stores. They wanted to take on the giants like McDonald’s and Burger King. The problem? They didn't have the cash for a Super Bowl ad. They couldn't outspend the Golden Arches. So, they did something else. They leaned into a logic that shouldn't have worked: self-preservation via bad spelling.
The "Accidental" Genius of the 1995 Billboard
The whole cow thing started in 1995. Before that, Chick-fil-A tried using a rubber chicken on a billboard. It flopped. People just didn't get it.
Then, The Richards Group (the ad agency that handled them for 22 years) had a lightbulb moment. What if the cows were the ones talking? It creates this weird, hilarious conflict. Cows don't want to be burgers. So, they're "renegades" trying to save their own hides by convincing us to eat the birds instead.
It was a total pivot. Instead of showing a steaming, perfect sandwich (which everyone else was doing), they showed a bunch of cows with a motive.
David Ring, the original art director, has mentioned in interviews that they used a specific font called "Cow Handwriting." They literally created a typeface that looked like it was painted by a hoof. It’s that attention to detail—the weird, imperfect human-ness of it—that made it stick. It didn't feel like a corporate board of directors wrote it. It felt like a prank.
Why the Cows Almost "Retired" (But Didn't)
Around 2016, something shifted. If you’ve noticed fewer cows on TV lately, you’re not imagining it. Chick-fil-A moved their account from The Richards Group over to McCann New York.
New agencies usually want to pee on the fire and start their own. They launched the "The Little Things" campaign. You've probably seen these: soft lighting, real-life stories of employees helping customers, very emotional, very "brand-forward."
- The Goal: Humanize the brand.
- The Tone: Earnest and "gracious hospitality."
- The Feedback: Mixed.
People missed the cows. Honestly, the cows were the soul of the brand's humor.
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But here’s the thing—the cows never actually left. They just evolved. By 2023 and 2024, the brand realized they couldn't just kill off their mascots. They launched "Code Moo," a digital game that brought the cows into the smartphone era. It turns out, even in 2026, we still want to see a cow named Sarge or Daisy try to sabotage a burger joint.
The Controversy Factor: It’s Not Just About Food
We can't talk about Chick-fil-A ads without talking about the 2012 firestorm. When former CEO Dan Cathy made comments about his personal beliefs on marriage, the brand became a lightning rod.
For a few years, the advertising had to do some heavy lifting. The marketing shifted away from the "renegade" vibe and moved toward an obsession with customer service. They started leaning into "My pleasure" as a core part of their identity.
They had to navigate a world where people were either boycotting them or waiting in two-hour lines to support them. It’s a case study in how a brand handles a PR crisis by doubling down on "niceness" in their commercials. They stopped talking about "the mission" and started talking about the people behind the counter.
It’s All About the "Fowl Poles"
One of my favorite bits of Chick-fil-A lore is their sports marketing. They don't just buy a 30-second spot; they take over the physical space.
In Houston, at Minute Maid Park, they turned the foul poles into "Fowl Poles." They put cows on top. If a player hits the pole, everyone in a certain section gets free chicken. It’s brilliant because it turns a boring part of the stadium into a giant, interactive ad.
What You Can Learn from the "Eat Mor Chikin" Strategy
If you're looking at this from a business perspective, there are three big takeaways:
- Stop showing the product. Sometimes, the "vibe" of the brand is more important than a photo of a burger. Chick-fil-A grew into a multibillion-dollar giant by showing us cows, not buns.
- Consistency is a superpower. They’ve been using the same cow-focused humor for over 30 years. In an industry that changes trends every six months, that’s unheard of.
- Use the "Underdog" voice. Even though they are now the #3 fast-food chain in the US, the ads still make them feel like a scrappy alternative to "Big Burger."
The Future of the Herd
So, where are we now? In 2026, the ads are a hybrid. You’ll see a heart-tugging commercial about a local owner helping a neighbor, followed immediately by a digital ad of a cow trying to hack a website to give away free nuggets.
It’s a weird balance of "we are a serious, hospitable company" and "here is a cow with a parachute."
If you want to see how this works in your own marketing or just appreciate the craft, pay attention next time you see a Chick-fil-A ad. Look for the "Little Things" storytelling, but also keep an eye out for those cows in the background. They’re still there, still painting billboards, and still refusing to spell "chicken" correctly.
Your next move: Take a look at your own brand's "voice." Are you being too corporate? Try finding your version of the "cow"—that one weird, slightly imperfect thing that makes people actually stop and look. If you're just curious about the history, go check out the Chick-fil-A "Stories" archive on their site; they've actually digitized a lot of the old 90s commercials that aren't on YouTube.