If you have never heard of KFC’s “Crazy Thursday”, then you are missing out on a lot of fun from one of China’s most entertaining marketing campaigns. “Crazy Thursday” refers to KFC’s special offers (available only on Thursdays) which went viral due to a large number of content recreations on social media platforms. 

The special offer was first introduced in August 2018, mainly focusing on products such as burgers, and fried chicken with only 9.9 RMB. Back then, even though the company invited several A-list celebrities to shoot a video commercial for the promotion, consumers didn’t show enough interest. It wasn’t until 2021 that there was a punchline(笑点) on Weibo, saying “Why do you look so down? Do you know what day it is? It is Crazy Thursday”. After a week, the sentence became a hit on social media, with many people talking about it and recreating the original punchline which attracted even more interest. As a result, sales on Thursdays increased tremendously due to this simple idea.

As the biggest winner, KFC’s marketing has never been known as a conspiracy(阴谋), but has changed into a well-known “conspiracy”. And KFC, which has won a lot, won more than just making money. Firstly, it won consumers’ recognition. On Thursday, some people will only go to KFC, because there are discounts, and because of this kind of habit, it has slowly solidified the purchase path of consumers. Secondly, it won free publicity(宣传). The active interaction of users reduces the cost of publicity. When users use all kinds of social platforms, they will spread their own content of “Crazy Thursday” to different media platforms. In this way, more people know it and buy its products. Finally, it won the psychological code. Making consumers “want to eat” may be the shortcut to increase the sales volume of the product in a short time, but making consumers always want to eat is the development strategy for the long-term development of the product.

“Crazy Thursday” is no longer a simple marketing activity, but a “product” developed with the brand. This product is created by consumers and KFC at the same time.

1. Why did KFC launch “Crazy Thursday”?

A    To make more fun in China.

B    To lower the prices of food.

C    To attract more consumers.

D    To promote its corporate culture.

2. What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 imply?

A    Consumers could buy all products with 9.9 RMB.

B    Some celebrities’ video commercial became popular.

C    The punchline cheered many net citizens up.

D    “Crazy Thursday” became popular online.

3. What’s the third paragraph mainly about?

A    Why KFC’s marketing was not a conspiracy.

B    What KFC benefited from the marketing campaigns.

C    How users spread their own content of “Crazy Thursday”.

D    When the long-term development strategy would appear.

4. Where is this text most likely from?

A    A magazine.

B    A diary.

C    A guidebook.

D    A novel.