There are regular fast food sandwiches and then there are those with cult followings so huge that they have a life of their own. Ever since Yum Brands (YUM)' Kentucky Fried Chicken's Double Down was discontinued in 2014, there has been petition after petition demanding its return while it also regularly appears in internet round-ups of the chain's craziest products.
Late-night TV host Stephen Colbert once even ate one on his show.
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A "sandwich" in which the bread is replaced by two slices of fried chicken, KFC's Double Down was created in 2010 as one of the first foods designed specifically for "internet consumption" -- it immediately went viral as people shared takes such as "gross" to "I kind of want to try it."
KFC sold more than 10 million of the sandwich in the first month of launching but discontinued it by 2014 after the initial novelty wore off.
The Details Of What's About To Go Double Down
Despite occasional reappearing as a seasonal menu item in countries such as Italy, Canada and New Zealand, the Double Down has not been available in the U.S. since that time.
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This finally changed on Wednesday when KFC announced that it will be putting the Double Down back on the menus for four weeks starting from March 6. Just like last time, the artery-busting concoction features two pieces of KFC's fried chicken to "sandwich" a slice of cheese, two pieces of bacon, pickles and either mayo or spicy sauce. (In some countries, that sauce is replaced with gravy.)
The entire thing clocks in at 950 calories.
"The Double Down is one of the most buzzworthy fast food menu items ever," Nick Chavez, who heads marketing for KFC, said in a press release. "After nearly a decade of people begging for its return, we're embracing the chaos, bringing back our most iconic sandwich ever for just four weeks."
Brands Really Want Their Food To Go Viral
The internet response was, predictably, very frenzied. Thousands wrote comments about how they have been waiting "literally years" for this moment while KFC replied to many of them with quips like "we love your double down devotion" and "we're drooling too" from the brand's official Twitter account.
The chain also launched a contest in which the first 2,014 (after the year the Double Down was discontinued) to sign up on kfcdoubledowndrop.com on March 2 will get a chance to taste the sandwich a day early on Sunday, March 5.
While the next decade brought with it everything from Burger King's Mac-and-Cheetos to Pepsi-flavored pizza, the Double Down was the one that launched the "food for the internet" trend -- something that might not necessarily appeal to the everyday eater but is so unusual or over-the-top as to get people talking about it and ultimately do the brand's marketing for it.
The Double Down is a successful example but, more often, the promotion makes a small splash and is just as quickly forgotten.
"These are part of a long tradition of companies creating new, slightly outrageous, fast food and snack food combinations -- more cheese, more meat, more layers, adding sauces, [or] Cheetos, for crunch and a pop of flavor," food historian Ashley Rose Young told BBC in 2019.
