- Hannah Morgan
6 Uncanny Promotional Products From Fast Food Chains
From McDonald's to Dunkin’, fast food restaurants are going beyond the norms with their promotional products. And though they may seem quite goofy, these methods seem to be working for the fast food industry.
See who sold burger toothpaste and CD compilations down below. With a list of promotional products from the following fast food chains:
KFC
Burger King
Dunkin'
Pizza Hut
McDonald’s
Taco Bell
Starbucks
KFC
Fried Chicken Sunscreen
The Kentucky Fried Chicken chain has done it again. But this time not with chicken. That’s right. KFC tapped into the skin care regime with extra crispy sunscreen back in 2016. What’s even more surprising is that all 3,000 bottles sold out almost immediately.
BURGER KING
Whopper Toothpaste
Alright so this one didn’t actually hit the market. But it’s still a promotional item. Burger King announced their whopper toothpaste for April fools back in 2017. Designed for those obsessive customers who can’t get enough of the delicious whopper taste. Regardless, it was a total attention catcher, while girlfriends everywhere were breaking up with their whopper loving boyfriends.
DUNKIN’
Gym Shoes
In the spirit of the upcoming Boston Marathon, Dunkin’ has teamed up with Saucony for the second year in a row. Both stores are based in Boston and this colorfully designed donut medallion Kinvara 10 shoe sold out, almost immediately, in their first year. They are sold in several different sizes for men, women, and kids alike. But you need to hurry over to the Saucony site because at this point in the Dunkin’ release, only a few sizes are left - priced at $65.
PIZZA HUT
Cardboard DJ Deck
Pizza restaurants are limited in their industry. That’s why Pizza Hut got creative with their inventions and turned the pizza box into a DJ deck. It was a fully functioning deck that could be hooked up to a phone or laptop for hosting the perfect pizza party. So if you’re in the entertainment industry and don’t mind a greasy deck, then this is ideal for you.
Unfortunately they sold at only 5 locations in the UK back in 2016.
McDONALD'S
Big Mac Merchandise
If you’re into sesame seeds on your feet and a big mac on your arm well today is your lucky day. McDonald’s has an ongoing merchandise site where you can purchase all your big mac wants. Sport McDonald’s in a whole new way by finding their merchandise here. I’m tempted to buy myself a big mac pin, not too shabby McD’s. Coming to a Nordstrom's near you in 2072.
TACO BELL
Gidget the Chihuahua
Gidget was Taco Bell’s number one mascot back in 1997-2000. Since Chihuahua’s are a common breed in Mexico it was on brand. However, stereotyping was perceived by many and they received quite the buzz of criticism for Gidget the Chihuahua. You can still find many stuffed animal versions of Gidget on eBay ranging from a couple of dollars to a couple hundred dollars.
STARBUCKS
Compilation CD’s
Back when CD’s were still a thing, Starbucks invested in compilation CD’s. These would be filled with songs you could listen to in their shop and hopefully make you crave a chai latte when Norah Jones came on. It was a great way to evolve into the music industry because of their rapport. However, the CD age slowly died, and Starbucks has evolved to much better ideas.
OVERALL
Something to learn from this journey is that fast food is trying to capitalize in their industries through abnormal products. And they are succeeding at it.
How can you relate this to your company you say? Well take this already practiced advice from these fast food chains and get creative with your promotional marketing. Think outside the box and perhaps create a collaboration for a one time, all exclusive product, that will sell off the shelves in minutes.
Feel free to call us and we will help bring your ideas to life. Can't wait to see what else is in store for consumers.