The fast food industry is well-known for its fierce competition. As a result, fast food chains often resort to outlandish publicity stunts to attract customers. In this article, we’ll be looking at the top 11 of the craziest fast food stunts that have made headlines.
11. Pizza Hut World Record Pizza (2023)
Pizza Hut brought back the Big New Yorker after a prolonged absence. For the occasion and to drum up publicity, the franchise constructed a 68,000 slice pizza that broke the world record for “biggest pizza ever made.” It was recognized by the Guinness World Record.
10. KFC’s Space Sandwich (2017)
In June 2017, KFC took its Zinger chicken sandwich to new heights by sending it to space. The sandwich was attached to a high-altitude balloon and sent more than 20 miles above the Earth. The stunt was dubbed “The Zinger 1 Mission” and aimed to show that the Zinger was literally “out of this world”.
9. Burger King’s Whopper Detour (2018)
In a clever move, Burger King launched an app that offered a Whopper burger for just 1 cent. However, customers could only unlock this deal if they were near a McDonald’s. The campaign, called “Whopper Detour”, encouraged people to literally detour from McDonald’s to a nearby Burger King.
8. Taco Bell’s Liberty Bell Takeover (1996)
In an audacious April Fool’s Day stunt, Taco Bell announced it had purchased the Liberty Bell and renamed it the “Taco Liberty Bell.” The prank resulted in an uproar before the company revealed it was just a joke. Taco Bell reportedly received millions of dollars worth of free publicity.
7. Domino’s Pizza’s DomiCopter (2013)
In 2013, Domino’s UK unveiled the DomiCopter, a drone designed to deliver pizzas. The drone was tested and managed to deliver two large pizzas in just 10 minutes. Although not implemented for mainstream use, the stunt garnered widespread media attention.
6. McDonald’s Rick and Morty Szechuan Sauce Craze (2017)
McDonald’s briefly brought back its Szechuan sauce, originally released in 1998 as a promotion for Disney’s Mulan, after it was mentioned in an episode of the animated series Rick and Morty. The demand for the sauce became so frenzied that stores ran out, and some customers even traded carloads of the sauce online.
5. Arby’s Vegetarian Support Hotline (2015)
In 2015, Arby’s introduced a “Brown Sugar Bacon” sandwich and set up a Vegetarian Support Hotline for vegetarians who were tempted by the new sandwich. Callers would be given tongue-in-cheek guidance to help resist the urge to try the meaty treat.
4. Denny’s Japan’s All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Challenge (2010)
In 2010, Denny’s Japan launched an “All-You-Can-Eat Pancake Challenge”. The challenge was simple; eat as many pancakes as you can within a certain time limit. Many food enthusiasts and competitive eaters took on the challenge, and it was an instant hit.
3. Subway’s Jarvis Landry Sandwich Statue (2019)
Subway once made a life-size sculpture of NFL player Jarvis Landry entirely out of sandwich ingredients to celebrate their partnership. The statue included different kinds of bread, cold cuts, vegetables, and sauces.
2. Pizza Hut’s Perfume (2012)
Forget Chanel. Pizza Hut Canada created a limited edition perfume that smelled like a fresh pizza baking in the oven. They only made 110 bottles and gave them to fans through a Facebook promotion. It quickly became a collector’s item for pizza lovers.
1. KFC & UberEats Skydiving Chicken (2022)
What better way to celebrate UberEats offering KFC through their app in Australia…than to have a sky-diving fried chicken jump out of airplane? And then plummet into a giant UberEats delivery bag waiting on the ground below? Not much, and that’s why this is number one. The scene really IS as magnificent as one can imagine it to be.
The fast food industry never shies away from experimenting with bold and daring marketing and publicity stunts. While some may be branded as ridiculous, they all managed to do exactly what they set out…gather attention, and customers.
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