Food manufacturers will do almost anything to attract attention. They'll even serve up bizarre food concoctions aimed at leaving a nasty taste in their consumers' mouths. Foods mixing sweet, savoury, and/or sour ingredients are being embraced for their curiosity and free media headlines, not because they are pleasant to eat. In fact the manufacturers barely expect them to sell.
Burger King recently launched a limited edition bacon sundae (below), with vanilla soft serve with fudge, caramel, bacon crumbles and a piece of bacon. Yes, that's right, vanilla ice cream and bacon! There are few doubts the product is only being consumed by the most adventurous fast food junkies, but that doesn't matter, because its launch made news around the world.
One of Australia's most popular foods, Vegemite, has also featured in some absurd creations. Most disgustingly, the American frozen yogurt chain Tasti D-Lite featured Vegemite flavored ice-cream. And last year Smith's Potato Chips tested our taste buds with Vegemite flavored chips. Not surprisingly they were only available for 12 weeks.
Finally, the not-so-humble hamburger has been massacred by just about every country on Earth. There are endless opportunities for alterations to ingredients, appearance and composition. KFC's 'Cheese-top Burger' (below) was dubbed the 'World's Dumbest Burger' after it was released in The Philippines.
Also the 'Darth Vader Burger' featuring a black bun (below) is the work of European fast-food chain 'Quick'.
Modern consumers are known to be drawn to the unknown, the unheard of and the gross. Even if they don't try it or buy it, the social buzz surrounding weird creations is giving food marketers a lingering taste for success.
Haha! The World's Dumbest Burger! Gah-ross. Does this reflect that old adage: "All publicity is good publicity?" Do you honestly want your food brand to be associated with grossness?
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