I'm just going to be honest: I'm truly fed up with ultra-limited-edition product launches that are basically just marketing gimmicks. 

I'm not talking about the newest batch of Ivy Park gear, which of course is going to sell out immediately. No, I mean when you see a consumer brand create a product (like a streetwear-inspired Taco Bell sleeveless hoodie or whatever) that's manufactured in the smallest of batches to ensure it generates headlines about "selling out in minutes."

(Yes, I've been guilty of writing such headlines. I'm not denying my role in the capitalism machine.)

So today I was morbidly pleased to see McDonald's get trolled in its attempt at an exclusive product drop—the early release of its new chicken sandwich by way of a minimalist-cool website called chkndrop.com. 

To be sure, the McDonald's drop went off as expected, selling out of the sandwich vouchers immediately (what a shock). But Popeyes still managed to swoop in to hijack some of the spotlight.

By creating 50 URLs with slightly different spellings of "chkndrop," Popeyes lured in typo-prone hypebeasts and instead offered them a free Popeyes chicken sandwich. There were originally 500 promo offers floating out there for the stunt, but it was later hiked to 10,000 freebies.

Did it derail McDonald's big launch? Nah. But it showed that even when you're not the one making a product reveal, you can still get in on the action if you're savvy enough.

How do you feel about consumer product and fast food brands doing "exclusive" product drops with intentionally limited quantities? Good hype and fan service? Hollow PR stunt? Let me know at the email below or at @Griner on Twitter.

David Griner
International Editor, Adweek
David.Griner@Adweek.com

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