Defeat the Dark Side was a coordinated advertising effort for the three restaurant chains—KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell—owned by Tricon Global. This campaign coincided with the theatrical release of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace, the 1999 film that began the prequel trilogy. The advertisements showcased the mascots of these franchises participating in events connected to the Battle of Naboo. Both Tricon Global and Lucasfilm Ltd. reportedly deemed the campaign a disappointment, leading to no further partnerships for subsequent prequel films.
In the year 32 BBY, the Battle of Naboo erupts on the planet Naboo. KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell unite to assist in the struggle against the forces of the dark side.
The Defeat the Dark Side campaign featured seven different commercials for television, toys and cup toppers that could be obtained at the restaurants, a dedicated website, and a limited-time sweepstakes. To enter the sweepstakes, participants were required to visit all three Tricon Global restaurants for a chance to win prizes. These prizes included a Lincoln Navigator automobile, a cash prize of one million dollars, or a Star Wars hovercraft speeder. During the sweepstakes period, each restaurant was associated with a different planet: KFC was linked to Naboo, Pizza Hut to Coruscant, and Taco Bell to Tatooine.
Andrall Pearson, the chairman and chief executive of Tricon Global, stated that the marketing tie-in did not effectively increase sales at the three restaurant chains and seemed to halt the progress made in previous quarters. This failure was blamed on market saturation, as Star Wars merchandise was widely available at numerous retailers before the film's release. Lucasfilm Ltd. also reportedly viewed the campaign as a failure, which resulted in no renewed partnership with Tricon for the subsequent prequel film.
- Defeat the Dark Side as archived on Archive.org
- A Defeat the Dark Side commercial on the Robert Bravo YouTube channel (alternative link)
- Colonel Sanders' page on Wikipedia
- KFC advertising's page on Wikipedia
- Taco Bell chihuahua's page on Wikipedia