Register

    Burger King: One Direction, Buzzfeed spurred chicken fries

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments809 Views
    This June 20, 2012 file photo shows signage at a Burger King restaurant in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)

    Social media influences menu offering

    By Candice Choi, Food Industry Writer

    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Fans of Burger King's chicken fries may have the boy band One Direction and the website Buzzfeed to thank for the return of the skinny fried sticks.

    At an event to hype a spicy version of the chicken fries coming out this week, Burger King said it decided to resurrect the fries last year after seeing the enthusiasm they generated on social media.

    Eric Hirschhorn, chief marketing officer for Burger King North America, said the company noticed a spike in chicken fry mentions in January 2014 that was traced to a Buzzfeed post titled "35 Foods From Your Childhood That Are Extinct Now."

    One of the items on the list was chicken fries, which Burger King sold between 2005 and 2012.

    A few months later, Hirschhorn says there was an even bigger surge when a One Direction member mentioned them. The company pointed to tweet by Liam Payne that reads, "I'm so fulllllll!!! Think I just ate my body weight in chicken fries and sides owwwwww."

    The tweet – which has more than 94,000 retweets – is confusing because Burger King hadn't yet brought back chicken fries. That raises the possibility that Payne just left out a comma, and meant to say he ate chicken and fries – not chicken fries.

    A preceding tweet also made it appear that Payne was eating at KFC, noted business news outlet Entrepreneur. That tweet included an image of Colonel Sanders and the words "the kernel god bless you and your original recipe."

    A representative for Payne said the singer wasn't available for comment. A Burger King representative said in an email: "Whatever he meant, it certainly helped catapult 'Chicken Fries' into pop culture consciousness as a follow up to the Buzzfeed story."

    Even if Burger King misinterpreted Payne's tweet, it worked out for the company. The return of chicken fries as a limited-time offer last summer was successful enough that Burger King added them to its permanent menu this March. A nine-piece box costs around $3.

    Hirschhorn said people tend to get them as an extra, which drives up the amount people spend. Last month, Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International said sales rose 7.9 percent at established stores in the U.S. and Canada for the latest quarter.

    Burger King may have brought back chicken fries even without the social media encouragement.

    Since being taken over by investment firm 3G Capital, the chain has leaned heavily on its past for ideas. In addition the King and Subservient Chicken characters, it has resurrected its Big King sandwich and Yumbo ham sandwich.

    Tags:Burger KingBuzzfeedOne Direction



    Football Practice Preps Nikki Glaser For Hosting The Golden Globes

    Thursday, December 26, 2024
    Nikki Glaser stands on the field after NFL football game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Denver Broncos, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

    What do Tom Brady, Taylor Swift and comedy have to do with learning about football?

    In the case of Nikki Glaser, it is all intertwined.

    Glaser has become a familiar face to football fans this season. Her breakthrough performance at the Tom Brady Roast on May 5 paved the way for five appearances on Amazon Prime Video's "Thursday Night Football" postgame show.

    Before last Thursday's game between the Denver Broncos and Los Angeles Chargers, Glaser said doing her "Late Hits" segment was a no-brainer following her success at the Brady roast.

    "The football audience is kind of familiar with me already. It's one that is OK with me not knowing every detail about football or expecting me to be an expert about it because I was who I was on the Brady Roast. I kind of admitted to not really following football that much," Glaser said. "And I became a fan of Tom Brady and the sport in doing it through that process. So then I was like, 'Let me just keep learning about football through joking about it.' And that was kind of my goal."

    Glaser admits her knowledge of football is not all the way there yet. Still, it is further ahead than it was a year ago when she started casually watching Chiefs games due to Swift's relationship with Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce.

    And mostly then, it was to see when Swift appeared on screen.

    However, Glaser decided to start learning more about the game, which she compared to trying to learn a new language.

    "I went my whole life putting on blinders because I was just scared to look stupid if I tried to learn. I always thought football fans would be really judgmental and cruel about my lack of knowledge. But they're not," Glaser said. "They're eager for you to understand and... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment