| Seija Rankin 11. August 2015 – 12:27
Remember chicken fries? You know, those things that Burger King sold that you thought were just thick french fries but then turned out to be made of…chicken. It’s an acquired taste, sure, but aren’t all fast food creations?
The venerable (that’s right, we’re feeling generous today) fast food chain sold the long-gone appetizers from 2005 to 2012, making them a huge source of nostalgia for anyone who was drunk or stoned during those years. People who miss eating fried chicken in stick form have been lamenting the loss for years now, but Burger King just announced that they’re making a comeback. And the world apparently has One Direction and social media to thank for it.
At an event to hype the upcoming release (which will actually be a spicy version of the old chicken fries), Burger King decided to share the story of how they realized they needed to bring back the concoction—as it turns out, they never realized what a sensation they were. It was a BuzzFeed article that initially piqued their interest. The story, titled “35 Foods From Your Childhood That Are Extinct Now,” mentioned chicken fries among items like Surge, Butterfinger BB’s and French Toast Crunch. Social mentions of the long-gone Burger King menu option spiked, putting it on the company’s radar again.
And then One Direction happened.
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A few months after the BuzzFeed article, band member Liam Payne decided to send a tweet that read “I’m so fulllllll!!! Think I just ate my body weight in chicken fries and sides owwwwww.” Those two uncannily beautiful and well-crafted sentences set off a movement. People everywhere suddenly became obsessed with the idea that eating chicken fries would bring them closer to their favorite singing teens. Demand for the menu item skyrocketed, and Burger King had no choice but to heel the call of the Directioners and bring back chicken fries once and for all.
And the best part of this story? Liam actually had a typo in his tweet, and he probably wasn’t even referring to Burger King at all. In fact, it seems it was good ol’ KFC that had him so satisfied. He most likely meant to add a comment and say “…chicken, fries and sides owwwwww.” Just look at his follow-up tweet for proof:
Burger King doesn’t really care which fast food chain he was referring to, because all they know is that they’re making a boatload of money off of some oddly-shaped chicken. It just goes to show you that One Direction is so powerful, even a typo can start a national movement.
Carry on, Liam. CArry on.
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