Yum Brands (NYSE: YUM) has an exciting new plan to revive its sagging KFC chain: moving the emphasis away from fried chicken.

Now wait a minute you say: How can Kentucky FRIED CHICKEN possibly re-invent itself as what CEO hopes will be a "nonfried chicken platform."

I doubt that it can, although I understand the temptation. Fried chicken has become synonymous with poor health and KFC has tried to change that image by changing its name from Kentucky Fried Chicken to KFC.

Does Yum really think people are that stupid -- or that KFC will be able to re-establish itself as something other than a fried chicken joint? What's the point of even trying? That is KFC's brand. If you want to make it into a non-fried chicken restaurant, why not just start a new chain?

The fact is that KFC will in all probability sink or swim as a fried chicken restaurant -- radical reinventions of brands that are synonymous with one product almost never work.

Yum is trying to turn hula hoops into Furby's.

Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) KFC is having some fun at rival Wendy's International Inc.'s (NYSE:WEN) expense.

KFC's will be giving away samples of the Colonel's Crispy Strips on January 29 to celebrate the fact that Wendy's has removed Homestyle Chicken Strips from its menu, according to a press release from the Louisville-based company. This bit of corporate benevolance will be touted in an advertisement in USA Today. I'm sure the folks at Wendy's are hanging their heads in shame.

As McDonald's Corp.'s (NYSE:MCD) recent blowout quarter underscores, chicken is big business for the fast-food companies. Notice how Yum Brands is taking a shot at Wendy's and not the home of the golden arches.

Still, my advice to investors and consumers who are in need of fast-food chicken is to head over to their local Chick-fil-a. Not only is the chicken good, but so are the Waffle fries. The company, which claims it was first with the "nugget concept,: operates 1,280 restaurants in 37 states and Washington. D.C. Last year, its sales were $2 billion, up from $1 billion in 2000.

Television and tabloid star Pamela Anderson has angrily renounced KFC's campaign for a U.S. postage stamp honoring founder Colonel Sanders. Yum! Brands Inc. (NYC:YUM) launched a petition in October asking the U.S. Postal Service to recognize Sander's entrepreneurial spirit with a postage stamp, a symbol of government inefficiency.

Anderson, a longtime animal-rights advocate and spokeswoman for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has been a harsh critic of the conditions under which chickens are raised for the deep-fryer.

If KFC's campaign is successful, the Colonel will join such recent dignitaries as Wonder Woman, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Cinderella and Judy Garland on our postage stamps.

I wonder if the post office would be more receptive to a series honoring the heroes of fast food, such as Dave Thomas, Ray Kroc, Roy Rogers, and the unknown creator of the fish taco.

For such a series, I'd suggest, instead of conventional glue, they could simply spill a little Coke on the back of each stamp.