For years, Popeyes has been bragging about the quality of its fried chicken, but now that the fast food chain says they beat KFC in an independent national taste test, it’s decided to take the battle right to the Colonel with a new marketing campaign that pits Louisiana against Kentucky.

In addition to boasting about the taste test beatdown on KFC, the ads will attempt to position Louisiana as “the land of good cooking” while Kentucky gets the less tasty moniker of, “the land of fast horses.”

Explains the chain’s chief marketing officer, “The more Louisiana we are, the better our results.”

Another thing that might work in Popeyes’ favor is that the ads seem to put the emphasis on the fried chicken. Meanwhile, some KFC franchisees are still stinging from the company’s attempts to de-emphasize the company’s fried past with its “Unthink KFC” campaign.

But while the taste test might have put Popeyes on top, the recently released Zagat fast food survey still had it running second to KFC.

So we say, forget Zagat and forget this taste test; here’s the poll that really matters:

Chicken Chain’s Taste Test Pits Louisiana Against Kentucky [NY Times]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.