Runner up. In a national contest. For a General Lee. Again.
I'm still having trouble believing that, for the second time in my life, I didn't win a Dodge Charger. In 2005 CMT held a "contest" to find the biggest Dukes of Hazzard fan. I put my heart and soul into my submission. I beat out thousands of entrants and was flown to Nashville as a finalist. Ben Cooter Jones was one of the judges. It turns out another guy "won." Now the exact prize wasn't a Charger, but $100,000. But it is obvious to anyone who knows me that I would have immediately purchased a General Lee with that money. That was the first time I was one person away from owning a General.
Recently, Kentucky Fried Chicken aired a commercial featuring two guys dressed in 70's attire driving a familiar car through a drive-thru to buy a pot pie. Jeff and I discussed the commercial on this very blog on this post's comments. Many people mentioned seeing a General on the commercial. It wasn't a General, but a 1970 Charger painted red. KFC knew they were invoking the General Lee though. There are many muscle cars out there, but if you want to be noticed, you go for the big boy.
I saw the commercial several times but only once did I see an extended version which said you can win the car used in the commercial. Of course I got all excited and jumped online for more info. The contest rules said that to enter you have to submit a classic photo to KFC. Natalie did a little searching and found the following old print ad online.
Recreating it would be the perfect classic photo. I enlisted my dad as the Colonel, got my neighbor, Trenton, to sit in for the boy, somehow managed to get my dog, Cam, to sit in one place for more than ten seconds, and got my sister, Kate, to be in it too. My mom snapped the picture. My final submission is below.
I included the original ad in the submitted photo just to remind the judges where we were going with it. I think we did a bang up job. Big Larry does a very good Colonel Sanders.
In the end KFC informed us that we were the runner-up. We won $260 worth of KFC. The entry that beat us went with the same throwback motif.
I'm surprised that they got away with featuring the Volkswagen logo so prominently. But these guys are driving a 1970 Charger, and I'm eating chicken.
I know what you are thinking, the General is a 1969, not a '70. But owning that 1970 Charger would mean I have one more Dodge Charger than I do right now.
Not many people even get through to a radio station for a call in contest. I have been runner up for two different national contests. I guess it's a good thing that I beat out so many other people, but being in this position twice drives me crazy. They say the third time is a charm. The next time someone holds a contest where the eventual outcome could be me owning a General Lee, look out. I'm winning that one. Winning the powerball would be so much easier.
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