Fast Food = Scandalous

When patronizing a fast food establishment, I never really ponder the big questions like:

• "Who developed the menu of this fast food joint?"
  
• "Who's the genius behind this limited time only super-tasty-hungry meal?"

As a fast food developer I certainly would never ask myself:

• "If this ends up being too many calories, is this going to create negative word of mouth for the company?"

Well, I guess the food mastermind at KFC should have considered that one when he brought into being the KFC Famous Bowl, a dish that is used as an example of gluttony to the extreme. In a blog I recently came across that is all about current culture, Culture Blog, young women and their propensity to continually gain weight, yet insist on wearing skin tight fashions, was the focus of an entry. The entry blames a number of factors such as current fashions, self-consciousness...and the KFC Famous Bowl.

A picture of the dish is displayed on the page to support the statement that we live in a hypocritical society that promotes "Victoria Secret models as ideals, while simultaneously advertising the KFC Famous Bowl of mashed potatoes, chicken, gravy and cheese." The calories and fat content are supplied as evidence of the excessively unhealthy lifestyle of Americans: the bowl contains 700 calories, 31 grams of fat and 2110 grams of sodium.

That's some negative WOM if I've ever read/heard it.

Another aspect of the food industry is the difference in quality/attractiveness of advertised food items versus the actual product. The KFC Bowl once again served as a bad example, this time the epitome of food that does not appear as it was advertised. I came across it first on AdFreak.com where an entry highlighted the sometimes extreme difference between the food item in the picture, and the one in the take out bag. KFC Famous Bowl, once again, was the poster item for ugly looking fast food in real life. The blog links to Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality, where other less than desirable looking fast food can be viewed.

But in actuality, according to some responses on chowhound.com, people didn't like the look of the Famous Bowl even when it was at its glamour-shot best in advertisements. In fact, those who left comments make references to throw-up and other foul things to describe the look of the dish. This proves that a food product's overall presentation and look is very important in garnering desire for a product and maintaining the integrity of the entire brand.

The KFC Famous Bowl is an interesting study in how to get people talking, in all the wrong ways, about a food item. Next time Mr. Mastermind, keep calories, actual presentation and overall attractiveness in mind before rolling another special meal out to the global chain.