Agency: GUT Miami
Role: Art director
Popeyes's Chicken Sandwich launch of 2019 went viral overnight, ushering the brand into the heart of hype-culture. So in order to pique interest and generate hype for the newest refresh on the internet's favorite sandwich, we look to one of the most hype niches in current pop culture: sneaker drops and hype-beasts.
Introducing Popeyes Blind Drop: A blind auction-style product drop for the new Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich.
Phase 1
TEASE
Borrowing from the world of sneaker drops, Popeyes launched a three-phase release, starting with a mysterious tease phase that had the internet talking.
We started with a saucy teaser video that featured the silhouette of the mystery sandwich, along with wild postings in the the hypest neighborhoods in the country: Fairfax, LA and Soho, NYC
People are directed to a landing page where they can sign up for a chance to win 1 of 25 limited edition hype boxes. The lucky winner wins exclusive early access to our mystery sandwich drop, a Hype Pass (free Popeyes for a month!) and some saucy merch.
The site went live at midnight on April 26th, with thousands of people crashing the server in their attempt to sign up for the raffle.
In total we received over 21,000 submissions and created over 1 Billion impressions within the 48 hours that the site was open for submissions.
Phase 2
REVEAL
The wait was finally over. In May 2022, we launched Popeye's Buffalo Ranch Chicken Sandwich with a robust digital and physical media plan.
A reveal video went live online, and anyone viewing our social profiles would have seen a fully branded Buffalo Ranch visual theme.
We made waves among the hype-beast community in Fairfax by giving out limited edition hype boxes to those waiting in line at their favorite streetwear stores.
Popeyes was also present in the biggest foodie convention in LA: Eeeeeatscon
Phase 3
SUSTAIN
To sustain hype around this new product,
we established a strong visual language emphasizing the delicious sauciness of this sandwich.
