Tim Hortons pushes ‘Buffalo Crunch’ doughnut at New York State Fair, horrifying, fascinating Americans
@AsEatenonTV/TwitterIs Tim Hortons mocking America with its new 'Buffalo Crunch' doughnut, some commentators are wondering. No, we say, they're paying homage. Still, we're also wondering what those corn chips are about...
While it remains to be seen if Burger King has bitten off more than it can chew by acquiring Tim Hortons in a whopper of a deal earlier this week, what is painfully (deliciously?) clear is that Tim Hortons already knows how to seduce the U.S. market — and media. It’s called a stunt sweet. And it works, even when Jason Priestley isn’tinvolved.
Pulling off one of their latest patented beigne marketing bombs (note to Gawker, that’s French for “doughnut marketing bomb”) the venerable Canada-based chain released its latest ludicrous concoction at the the New York State Fair this week (it’s available there till Monday).
TwitterOK, ranch dressing is fine, but what about blue cheese? Wouldn't that make more sense?
Meet the “Buffalo Crunch.” And yes, it comes with ranch dressing, for those who were worried. We have it on good authority that the baked good, which includes crushed up chips and “actual Buffalo sauce” as toppings, tastes “a little bit like a chicken wing” although Tim Hortons says it doesn’t contain any meat ingredients.
While reaction on the web has been varied, with Gawker concerned that we’re both stealing Burger King head office AND mocking America (check and check), no less an authority than New Yorkmagazine’s Grub Street blog was falling all over itself to describe the doughnut in detail, perhaps providing Tim Hortons with just the language it will need for new U.S.-style menus:
It consists of a pull-apart yeast doughnut that’s dunked in Buffalo sauce and crusted with crushed-up chips. It combines a staggeringly high number of junk-food influences (Buffalo sauce, tortilla chips, doughnuts) while still managing to make sense. The corn-chip strips in the center are decorative, and the doughnut comes in mild and hot varieties — mild is “toned down” with Ranch dressing. It costs $2.
And while the aghast/fascinated New Yorkers — creators of the cronut and ramen burger, to name just two other ridiculous but excellent food mashups — immediately began to speculate about the arrival of the doughnut burger across the U.S., it’s not immediately clear whether the Burger King/Tim Hortons merger means menu items, too.
Now, having said that … the Yanks do need a bit of a history lesson to truly understand this development:
Miles Gilbert “Tim” Horton (yes THAT Tim Horton), who helped co-found the chain Burger King is buying in a $12.5-billion deal, played hockey for the Toronto Maple Leafs, yes, but he finished his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres. The last time we checked, you could even get a Tim Hortons coffee inside the arena where the Sabres play. So, what could be more natural than a Buffalo doughnut in honour of the original Tim, hm?
One last bit of advice … this time for Tim Hortons’ marketers: Get Iggy Azalea to eat one for a TV commercial, buy the rights to Fancy, book the Super Bowl ad, and then don’t look back …
No comments:
Post a Comment