When Products (Heart) Attack, Short-Term Goals Win

It’s here.

As AdFreak so unceremoniously reminded me this morning, KFC unveils their Double Down sandwich today. For the uninitiated, KFC’s news release describes the sandwich as:

… two thick and juicy boneless white meat chicken filets (Original Recipe® or Grilled), two pieces of bacon, two melted slices of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel’s Sauce. And no bun!

They had me at the exclamation point.

We live in a schizophrenic country, where we place gyms and drug stores on every block, yet we’ll be less healthy than the generation before us. Because of that, it would be really easy to go on a rant about unhealthy products and marketing responsibility, but it’s been done before, and it’s a lazy blog post.

Spare me your high horse, these companies aren’t trying to kill us. Who’d buy their finger-licking sandwiches?

It’s merely a function of how products are unveiled these days. KFC is trying to tap into the ever-elusive siren of online buzz, a term I can barely type without cringing. It’s no different than when a minor league baseball team unveils an unhealthy promotion (like the Fifth Third Burger) or the newest social media company tests their alpha version. Publicity is a well thought out machine, determining audience and differentiation. What makes this product different is not the lack of a bun, it’s that the product sounds and looks absurdly unhealthy. The “buzz” being generated is a testament to that.

For the record, I don’t have a problem with KFC producing or advertising these types of gut-busting products. The problem lies in that this product is coming on the heels of last year’s KCF “UnThink” grilled chicken campaign (from which, the microsite no longer works), which was advertised as a healthy alternative to their other products.

While company flacks address the calorie count (540 calories) “similar numbers to many of the burgers available at fast food restaurants today,” it’s weak. You can’t use the ‘tubes for buzz on one campaign and not expect it to affect long-term online reputation, especially when your company makes such a big deal about it. So which is it KFC, do you want to be known as a healthy alternative or not?

If you’re going to go cholesterol-fest on us, go all-in. Otherwise, the Double Down campaign is a short-term win, but a long-term let down.

Photo of an actual Double Down sandwich from Consumerist