Tastes like mascot

Chick-fil-A has its ubiquitous cow. Not to be outdone, rival chicken slinger PDQ now also has a mascot: a chicken dressed as a chef. PDQ debuted the character Dec. 10 at its newly opened restaurant in Westchase, Hillsborough County.

To create its new standard-bearer, the Tampa-based fast-casual restaurant chain — the initials stand for People Dedicated to Quality — enlisted the services of Burton Morris, an award-winning artist. Morris' resume includes logos for events such as the FIFA World Cup, Major League Baseball's All-Star Game and the Academy Awards, as well as major global brands like Coca-Cola, Rolex, Sony and Ford.

PDQ left its red-and-yellow block logo untouched, instead topping it with the chicken mascot. “We felt our logo needed to include a mascot, made from scratch with an artist's touch,” says PDQ CEO and co-founder Nick Reader in a press release. “The second we saw Burton's creativity and ability to make pop-culture items come to life, we knew he would be the perfect person for the job.”