KFC may strike lucky with Double Down
Published April 15, 2010
KFC's Double Down sandwich has generated unprecedented levels of buzz for the fast-food chain, underlining the potential benefits of thinking outside the box, in creative marketing and elsewhere.
The Double Down - made up of bacon and cheese between two pieces of fried chicken - combines almost every basic element that Americans recognize as fast food, yet is presented in a very unorthodox or even unprecedented way.
Blogger Brian Merchant writes that "the campaign that KFC itself is using to sell the Double Down amounts to nothing more than 'this thing is crazy gross looking.' So crazy, and so gross, that no blog or media outlet could bear letting it pass by without expressing an opinion of some kind." The company said that even during its testing phase, the Double Down created more buzz than any product in its history - so much buzz, in fact, that the company took the "unusual step" of marketing the product before its actual release, KFC noted.
And, indeed, people have been talking. In fact, even the New York Times' head food critic, Sam Sifton, reviewed the Double Down. Despite the fact that Sifton gave it a harsh review, KFC can now honestly claim to have been featured in the country's paper of record.
Additionally, the company incorporated a cause marketing element into the campaign. KFC will donate both buns and funds to food banks across the country, starting with the Dare to Care Food Bank in the company's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.