Ithaca Blog

Sunday, August 25, 2013

What's In A Fast Food Name (And Bucket)

Dunkin' Donuts runs commercials on Met games on TV (yes, Met games, it ain't over till it's over), and I notice it isn't "Dunkin' Donuts" anymore, it's just "Dunkin'." I guess donuts are a little declasse, and reminiscent of Homer Simpson, and the company wants to focus on the other, more expensive foods they now sell.

It reminds me of when Kentucky Fried Chicken changed their name to KFC years ago. You probably think it was to get the word "Fried" out of the picture. Maybe, but there's another possibility.

At the time the Colonel made the change, I was a few years out of college, and worked with a younger guy named Johnny who ate KFC for lunch a couple of times a week. As he indulged one day, I mentioned the name change, and how they don't want you to think about the unhealthy fried aspect of their food.

"No," he said patiently, between bites. "It's not about the 'F'. It's about the 'C'."

"About the C?," I said.

"Uh huh," he said, pointing at the bucket. "It's not necessarily chicken."

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