Double Down

Yesterday KFC launched a new burger. Nothing remarkable about that in itself. What is remarkable is the controversy that has engulfed the country over this event. It started when the NZ Herald broke the story on Monday. According to the reporter, KFC where about to market the Double Down  Chicken burger which sets new records in fast food obscenity. The picture accompanying it told it all. Here is a burger like no other burger. It consists of 2 fried chicken fillets. In between the fillets is some bacon and some secret sauce.The whole thing is glued together with cheese. There is no bun. That's right, no bread. What you've got is a cheese and bacon sandwich where they've used fried chicken instead of bread. It's a cholesterol bomb. A heart attack in a box.

Condemnation was swift and widespread. Health food activists screamed for it to be banned. Obesity experts were outraged and called for advertising restrictions. Talk back radio was filled with people registering their disgust. But then, some facts started to emerge. With no bread this thing is low in Carbohydrates. It also turns out there's less fat in it than things like a whopper or big mac. KFC have not done any advertising for it. By Tuesday morning things had changed somewhat. People were starting to talk about things like freedom of choice and do-gooders sticking their noses in where they don't belong. The double down was becoming a rallying point for people sick of the politically correct nanny state and holier than thou health food freaks telling everybody how to live .It was a remarkable turn around. Demonised one day, celebrated the next.

When the Double Down went on sale at lunchtime on Tuesday the queues were out the door. Another journalist wrote a review which was favourable. The airwaves were full of people asserting their right to eat what they want even if it does clog their arteries. I'm not a fan of KFC. I might go there once a year just to confirm that it's every bit as bad as it was last time but with all this hype going on I determined to find out what all the fuss was about. I called up my good friend Anthony and said "The whole worlds talking about Double Down. We've got to find out why!". Ant was keen but said that his girlfriend Katherine is a big KFC fan and would never forgive him if she wasn't invited to the testing event. A time was arranged for Wednesday night.

Ant...Doublin Down

KFC Lincon Road was jumping. It was 7.15PM and there where about 20 people lined up at the counter with nearly as many cars in the drive through lane. It took a long time to get served. People where ordering multiple double downs. It was frantic. The staff looked on the verge of breakdown. We finally got our food. The burger was quite tasty if a little strange looking. I don't think the chicken instead of bread idea is a sound one however. Having your fingers coated in oil tends to remind you how unhealthy all this is. I felt that it would have been better if eaten with a knife and fork. We had all come here with different objectives. Ant is a food whore and will eat just about everything. Katherine was curious to see what it was all about and I was making a political statement and asserting my civil rights. We all reached a consensus however. It's not something we would rush to buy again.

KFC couldn't have asked for more. With a zero advertising budget they've had nationwide exposure and have people buying something they probably never would have just to find out what all the fuss was or to make a point. It's enough to make one believe that this thing was never meant to be a proper part of the menu but was instead a rather clever publicity stunt.