Red Rooster gets saucy with adults-only picture book, via Leo Australia
Red Rooster is “rewriting the rules” of quick service restaurant (QSR) marketing, using AI-powered publishing to revive a hero item through the launch of an e-storybook.
Red Rooster and creative agency Leo Australia moved beyond the traditional TVC to market one of its chicken dishes. The new above-the-line campaign heroes one of the QSR’s most popular menu items, the “Hot Honey Crunch Fried Chicken”.
The e-storybook, titled “The Birds & The Bees: The Unofficial Story of How Hot Honey Crunch Was Made”, is described as a tongue-in-cheek, adults-only parody picture book, exploring the item’s “origin story” via two star-crossed lovers, “Chris P Chicken” and “Hot Honey”.
Powered by AI illustration tools — a first for both Red Rooster and Leo Australia — the digital book is available for free, while actress, musician, and former Hi-5 star Casey Burgess will amplify it with a read-aloud performance across Red Rooster’s social platforms.
Sam Bragg, CEO of Red Rooster, said she knew the campaign needed to be fresh and unexpected in order to truly get attention.
“Rather than rolling out just another TVC, we decided to lean into culture and storytelling, and ‘The Birds & The Bees’ provides the perfect way to create buzz, spark conversation, and engage customers in a more playful, shareable way,” she said in a release on Wednesday.
“It’s a great way to have some fun with the brand and satisfy our customer’s chicken cravings at the same time.”
Using parody publishing as a platform allowed them to show off the product in a distinctive way, according to Leo Australia’s creative director, Michelle Walsh.
“We’ve added some spice to the classic ‘birds and the bees’ story, writing an adults-only picture book about the conception of Reds’ Hot Honey chicken. In our case, the bird is a crunchy piece of Reds’ fried chicken named ‘Chris P. Chicken’ and the bee is a jar of sauce known as ‘Hot Honey’. With the assistance of AI tools, we crafted a story about these two lovers, who overcome great odds to make Reds’ most deliciously saucy offering yet,” she said.
The campaign is live now for six weeks across online video, digital, PR, and creator content, and on Thursday August 28 — Red Nose Day — Red Rooster will donate $1 from every “Hot Honey Satisfryer Box” sold nationally to Red Nose.
Credits:
Client: Red Rooster
Lisa White, Head of Marketing, Red Rooster
Stephanie Gardner, Brand Manager, Red Rooster
Stella Katsaros, PR & Communications Manager, Red Rooster
Creative Agency: Leo Australia
James Walker-Smith – Chief Client Partner
Shae Jones – Group Business Director
Max Reiser – Business Manager
Tommy Cehak – Executive Creative Director
Michelle Walsh – Creative Director
Bill Scheggia – Copywriter
Lewis Catalano – Art Director
Production:
Dan Meyers – Head of Multimedia Operations at PXP
Nicole Marshall – Executive Producer at PXP
Emily Suine – Integrated Producer at PXP
Cindy Kuoch – Senior Experiential Designer at PXP
Gab Viera – Senior Partnerships Manager at Prodigious Play
Declan Clow – Content Creator at Prodigious Play
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Lauren McNamara is a freelance journalist contributing to Mumbrella. She previously spent three years at the publication, most recently as the associate editor. She first joined in 2022 after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS. She left her staff role at Mumbrella in August 2025.
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Hot Honey Crunch Fried Chicken
Leo Australia
Michelle Walsh
Red Rooster
Sam Bragg
The Birds & The Bees: The Unofficial Story of How Hot Honey Crunch Was Made
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