The new KFC Double Down sandwich is real! This one-of-a-kind sandwich features 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. This product is so meaty, there’s no room for a bun!
I have to hand it to KFC, their marketing team has pretty much hit this one out of the park. And while I am personally sickened at the thought of what one of these “sandwiches” would feel like as it made its way through my body, I can’t help but be impressed by the way they have launched this product.
I think people are generally having one of three reactions to this –
- That looks ridiculously good – I want one NOW
- That thing is grotesque – it disgusts me and I will never eat one
- That’s so completely grotesque and.. oh god.. what’s happening to me… – I want one NOW
It’s a very polarizing piece of food. And of course I’m using the term “food” very loosely here, but for simplicity’s sake let’s just say it is – that’s another discussion for another time.
KFC launched this sandwich earlier this week, on Monday, April 12th. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember any time in my life when I’ve ever been aware of a sandwich launch. Point one for KFC marketing. KFC also hyped this event with a veritable media blitz – internet, newspaper, television, etc. You couldn’t really even *avoid* knowing about it. Point two for KFC marketing. And, KFC launches this sandwich in the midst of a time of heightened enlightenment about food in our country – another polarizing factor – which allows the backlash against the sandwich to actually perform as an additional assisting marketing factor. The people claiming foul (no pun intended, and those aren’t real chickens they use anyway) about the Double Down were never going to eat one in the first place. But you can bet that the people who do find the sandwich appealing will enjoy it all the more knowing their action is pissing off those smarmy little elitist hippy bird-seed eatin’ health food freaks.
“Suck on this, Jamie Oliver! I’m gonna eat this crap and I’m gonna like it! And then I’m gonna do it again tomorrow!”
The eating of the Double Down sandwich then starts to take on a very real political meaning – who would have ever thought? Three points for KFC marketing, and I’m sure there are many more but I don’t want to belabor the issue.
The thing is that, honestly, the Double Down Sandwich is really not much more than a chicken cordon bleu, fast food style. Stuffing meats with other meat or cheese (or, gasp, vegetables and herbs!) is certainly nothing new. But how many typical KFC customers do you think would be interested in buying a “chicken cordon bleu” or would even care enough to find out what one was? My money says not very many.
“Chicken cordon bleu? What the shit is that, it sounds French! I don’t want no Frenchie terrorist food!”
So instead, we have the Double Down – a much more masculine and intimidating product, by all accounts. KFC certainly knows their demographics well, as everyone I’ve spoken to thus far who actually expresses interest in eating such a thing tends to be young, male, and perhaps living with a slight testosterone imbalance. Eating a Double Down is a reinforcement of your masculine prowess! For surely, only a real man could handle so much meat.
It’s funny how frequently you’ll see both brilliant marketing and utter foolishness going hand in hand. I won’t use the word exploitation here, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t cross my mind.
So what about the sandwich itself? How does it really measure up, nutrition wise?
The saturated fat is off the charts. 30+ grams in 500 some calories. As is the sodium. Is it going to kill you to eat one? Or maybe even a few? No. In fact, it’s not really much worse than a lot of other KFC products… which, by the way, is another little marketing trick fast food places like to pull – “hey, look, this thing’s not so bad, check out this comparison with our other products!” … neglecting to illustrate what that product’s value might look like when compared to real food that came from somewhere outside of their restaurant.
My point here is, if you’re going to eat fast food then you either don’t know, or you don’t care. I believe it’s becoming harder and harder to claim ignorance on these matters, so that mostly leaves the people who don’t care. As I’ve said before, if you’ve actually taken the time to think about the food – where it comes from, what it does to your body and how monopolized fast food companies are taking advantage of your food dollars, what the consequences are (not only to your health but also your environment and our culture) – and you still want to give them your business, then more power to you. I can’t fault people for that; it’s their right to make such a choice. And that’s the way it should be.
But in my opinion, that’s not the danger present here. The real danger is in the changing landscape of our American food system and the political climate that is being created around it. People either love this sandwich or they hate it, and I’d wager a guess that it’s not even the sandwich itself that they love or hate but rather the idea that it represents. I believe that in the coming years, we are going to see a more and more polarized (have I used that word enough yet?) division in American food culture as a result of both the growing alternative food movement and the power of the large corporate food-supply monopolies. It is foolish to think that they will not fight tooth and nail for the vast market share they have won in the past several decades. It is going to be a bloody battle, and make no mistake – there will be many casualties.
Lastly, I want to again congratulate KFC and a perfectly apt name for their sandwich – the Double Down. Eating fast food is an entirely literal gamble with your health. But why would you ever want to raise the stakes when there’s nothing to win from the pot in the first place?
So, is the Double Down for you?
- I want one. I may even have already had one.
- It’s a crime against humanity, I could never eat such a thing.
- It’s a crime against humanity – a yummy, vicious, sinful crime that I must eat as soon as possible.
What’s your vote?
