Takeaway Truth is a regular Lifehacker feature where we compare marketing images against what you actually get served. Today: KFC’s The One Box.
The KFC “One Box” is a limited-edition combo deal consisting of ten popular menu items. Dubbed the “ultimate feed for blokes”, it comfortably surpasses the Zinger Stacker combo as the most indulgent meal on KFC’s menu.
[related title=”More Takeaway Truth” tag=”takeaway-truth” items=”4″]
For a fairly hefty $12.95, you get a box of popcorn chicken, one wicked wing, a crispy chicken strip, a Zinger breast fillet, a piece of regular KFC chicken, a small fries, a bread bun, potato and gravy, spicy dipping sauce and a can of soft drink.
In other words, it’s essentially a greasy sampler pack that contains one of everything (sans wraps and burgers).
As you can probably imagine, this isn’t a meal for the fainthearted — it packs in a whopping 5508 kilojoules, which is well over half your recommended daily energy intake in one hit.
It would be sensible to assume that this meal is aimed at two or more people, such as McDonald’s value dinner boxes.
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However, the accompanying advert heavily implies it’s aimed at single diners, specifically blokes who want to one-up their mates:[clear]
Purely on grounds of health, we feel unable to recommend this solo chicken orgy to male readers of Lifehacker. (Instead of “one-upping” your friends, split the costs and share — you might live a bit longer.)
So how does the reality of the One Box stack up to KFC’s delicious marketing photos? We purchased a box from an outlet in Penrith and compared it to the image on the poster. Here they are, side-by-side:
The good news is that all items are present and accounted for: they also look more or less identical to the advert, both in terms of colour and size. As always though, there are a few slight niggles that keep KFC from attaining a perfect score.
The real KFC One Box has been packed with little care or attention to detail, whereas the marketing version is put together with the precision of a bento box. But y’know what? We think this is perfectly acceptable. Unlike a pizza or burger, you’re not buying this based on the artistic assembly shown in the poster. So we’re going to give KFC a pass here.
The way the food is practically overflowing out of the box is slightly less forgivable, however. When viewed side-by-side, it’s blatantly obvious that the box in the poster is using some kind of platform to elevate the food (either that, or the box is shallower).
We understand that KFC needs to show its food off properly, but in this case, the stacked positioning gives a false impression that there might be more food underneath. Apart from the one sneaky perspective trick, this is a pretty good effort overall.
Comments
9 responses to “Takeaway Truth: The KFC One Box”
Argh, why must these articles always be posted at lunch time? Also, wow that’s a lot of food.
Yeah I know right hahah.
@chrisjager – Out of interest, do you guys receive any sponsorship from KFC? If not, why not? Get your free chicken on!
Well, would you sponsor a feature that continually stuck the boot into your products? 😛
Yup, definitely want KFC now.
Bogan degustation
Disgustation?
Degustation..
I think you missed the joke. I was trying to coin a new term 🙂
Yeah. That shit’s my jam. I dunno why anyone would think that’s two peoples’ feed…