What Popeyes' Mysterious Countdown Could Mean
With so many restaurants competing for customers' interest, marketing these days has to be strategic, unique, and creative. Burger King, for example, pulled in crowds when it offered a 1-cent Whopper in 2018 to those who ordered through the BK app, so long as they were within 600 feet of a McDonald's.
Other chains, particularly fast food restaurants, have turned to celebrity collaborations. Consider McDonald's partnership with rapper Saweetie. The Saweetie Meal allowed customers to "remix" their meal, says Food Network, just like Saweetie does. Around the same time, Tim Horton's partnered with Justin Bieber to create three new Timbits flavors, nicknamed "Timbiebs."
And now, Popeyes has sent fans into a tizzy with a mysterious countdown on the homepage of its website and social medias. On the Popeyes website, the countdown is accompanied by the phrase "it's about to go down" and a dramatic silhouette of what seems to be a chicken sandwich. We don't know for sure what is being counted down — the website is called "blind drop," after all — but people sure have plenty of theories!
Facebook users offer guesses about Popeyes' blind drop
From the Popeyes website, we know the countdown is related to a "blind drop" of a new product. Fans of the chain are encouraged to enter a contest for the chance to win a "Hype Box," merch, and early access to its "latest sandwich drop." And that's all the information we're given.
On Facebook, however, hundreds of fans have chimed in with their guesses as to what the new sandwich might be. Several commenters said they were hoping for a buffalo chicken sandwich, or any kind of "real" spicy sandwich. Some people commented that they were hoping for a plant-based chicken sandwich -– though others seemed to be strongly against this idea.
A number of other guesses were, well, just funny. "It's a hamburger," Greg Ferina wrote, to which Popeyes actually responded, "Nah. Maybe next life." Dan Stansell commented, "I'm betting it's a sandwich," a guess Popeyes deemed "psychic." Jonathan Serrato asked, "Are they releasing Chicken Sandwich 2?" Popeyes answered, "Not a sequel this time, but a reeeemiiiiix." We'll just have to wait and see what happens on May 3.