Free Chick-fil-a for Fans on Labor Day

In celebration of the second-annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff football game, Chick-fil-A restaurants nationwide will offer a free Chick-fil-A Chicken Sandwich to any customer wearing any sports-related apparel on Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7.

The Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game will be Saturday, September 5 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, pitting the University of Alabama against Virginia Tech. It will be televised nationally on ABC.

On the Monday after the game (Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 7) from 10:30 AM to 8 PM, customers wearing any sports-related apparel to a Chick-fil-a restaurant will receive a free Chick-fil-a sandwich.

Appropriate attire includes any article of clothing with a sports team logo – from a little league uniform to a favorite professional or collegiate jersey, hat, t-shirt, socks or other accessory.

“Last year’s inaugural Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game was a huge success, and we are thrilled to see the excitement building for this year’s event,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “This promotion has proved to be a great way to celebrate the beginning of college football season, and what better way to celebrate than giving away the Original Chick-fil-A Sandwich?”

But that's not the only way to get a free Chick-fil-a sandwich. You can also go to www.ChickenWave.com and sign up to receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-a Sandwich. The first 250,000 people to sign up get the free sandwich, the next 750,000 will get a coupon for a free Coke Zero. Plus there will be a daily drawing (8/24 to 10/31/09) for a $50 Chick-fil-a gift card.

Chick-fil-a's Peach Milkshake for Summer

Chick-fil-a has introduced a new peach flavor to their line of "Hand-Spun" milkshakes for the summer months.

It will be offered between June 1 and August 22 this year.

The Peach Milkshake is made with real peaches and "is hand-spun with Chick-fil-a's popular 'home-style' Icedream and topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry."

Chick-fil-a is also now offering a smaller milkshake size for all their shakes that will be a permanent size. They are now offered in 14 oz. or 20 oz. cups and cost $2.49 and $2.89 respectively.

"We continue to build upon the overall success of our Hand-Spun Milkshakes by creating limited-time flavors as a way to celebrate special times of the year," said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A's vice president of brand development.

Chick-fil-a 2009 Cow Calendar Available

The latest annual Chick-fil-a calendar featuring the "Eat Mor Chikin'" cows is now available at your local Chick-fil-a.

The 2009 version has a police theme called "Bovines in Blue."

The 2009 calendar features monthly portrayals of notorious Bovines in Blue who have taken burger enforcement into their own hooves in an attempt to save their fellow cows’ hides. Highlights include Charsky & Hoof breaking up burger rings and foiling beef extortion plots; the ever-resourceful MooGyver who has guided countless villains toward the ways of chicken-eating; a Grill Street Blues officer questioning a burger-eating criminal; and BSI: Bovine Special Investigators reconstructing elaborate lunch scenes using fork trajectories, ketchup splatter patterns and the latest in sesame seed analysis.

The calendar costs $6.

“The Chick-fil-A Calendar is an entertaining way to leverage two of our strongest qualities: the ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ Cows and our food,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “Many of our customers buy the calendars year after year just for the comical Cow illustrations, but in these tough economic times, the $30 worth of food offers also make the calendar a valuable gift option. Combine it with a Chick-fil-A gift card and the Bovines in Blue will love you!”

Chick-fil-a's NASA Kid's Meal

Chick-fil-a has teamed up with NASA's Kennedy Space Center for their latest Kid's Meal premium.

It's part of Chick-fil-a's longstanding "Growing Kids Inside and Out" program that aims to educate and inspire their younger customers with the prizes they put in their Kid's Meals.

Each Kid's Meal will contain one of the 4 parts shown above to create a miniature version of the Space Station.

The piece I've got, the Command Center (second from right in the picture), has 8 double sided round cards (examples below) with facts about NASA's Constellation program, the program that follows the Space Shuttle. With facts about planned trips to the Moon and Mars.

“We hope that the Kennedy Space Center premiums teach our youngest customers about space and inspire their curiosity beyond their immediate community,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “Through our Chick-fil-A Kid’s Meal Program, local Family Night events in the restaurants and outreach to schools and children’s groups in our communities, we aim to have a positive impact on the lives of children both developmentally and educationally.”

Chick-fil-a also wants you to remember that Men's Health magazine recently recognized Chick-fil-a as "America's Healthiest Chain Restaurant for Kids." The Chick-fil-a Kids Meal includes a choice of Chick-fil-a Nuggets or Chick-n-Strips and a variety of side choices, including Waffle Fries, dessert items.

Peppermint Chocolate Chip Shake at Chick-fil-a

Coming in November to a Chick-fil-a near you is the Peppermint Chocolate Chip Milkshake.

This new flavor milkshake will be at Chick-fil-a for a limited time, that is, for the holidays.

Yum!

UPDATE: Since I wrote about the shake before the press release came out... here are some more details:

It's hand-spun with Chick-fil-a's "home-style" Icedream and topped with light whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. They come in a 20 oz. cup and are priced at $2.89. The shakes will be available until January 3, 2009.

Chick-fil-a PEZ Dispenser

Chick-fil-a has partnered with PEZ Candy, Inc. (the Austrian candy company famous for its ecletic candy dispensers) to produce the Chick-fil-a "Eat Mor Chikin" Cow PEZ dispenser.

The dispensers go on sale today (10/13/08) and sell for $1.99 (at participating Chick-fil-a restaurants).  They will also be available online at the Chick-fil-a store.

The "Eat Mor Chikin" cows were introduced 13 years ago and have been entertaining us with their desperate acts of self-preservation aimed at converting beef eaters into chicken fans.  And now they're being immortalized as a PEZ candy dispenser.

“While our ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ campaign is an integral part of Chick-fil-A’s marketing, it has also become part of American pop culture,” said Steve Nedvidek, Senior Manager of Marketing for Chick-fil-A. “The collectible PEZ dispenser is a great way for fans of the Cows to enjoy these classic candies, as well as to provide an exciting and memorable new way to enhance the Chick-fil-A brand via collectible ‘Eat Mor Chikin’ Cow memorabilia.”

More on Chick-fil-a's Trans Fat Elimination

Both Burger King and Chick-fil-a announced the elimination of Trans Fat from their menus last week.

Chick-fil-a has now offered more information on their announcement.

Of note is the fact that none of Chick-fil-a's core menu items, including it's signature Chick-fil-a Chicken Sandwich, Chick-fil-a Nuggets and Chick-fil-a Chick-n-Strips ever had any trans fat.  They are pressured cooked in 100% refined peanut oil which is naturally trans fat free.

But, Chick-fil-a's popular Waffle Potato Fries, it's breakfast biscuits and some dessert items did have some trans fat.  The Waffle Potato Fries have been trans fat free for the past year.  The trans fat will be phased out of the breakfast biscuits by November.  The only remaining trans fat will be in Chick-fil-a's Cheesecake which has .5 grams of naturally occurring trans fat (and zero grams of artificial trans fat).

from Chick-fil-a:

“While we are proud that we successfully removed trans fat from our lunch and dinner menus, we are especially proud of our accomplishments within our breakfast lineup,” said Woody Faulk, vice president of brand development and director of Chick-fil-A’s menu strategy. “Breakfast has proven to be an extremely competitive daypart for the quick-service industry in recent years, and we are confident the diversity of our menu and the fact we have removed trans fat from our breakfast items without sacrificing taste will continue to help position Chick‑fil-A as a leader in the breakfast category.”

“We are also honored that others in the industry have taken note of our efforts to offer customers a broader menu with healthier choices, especially within our Kid’s Meal offerings,” Faulk added, noting Men’s Health magazine editors David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding recently recognized Chick-fil-A in their new book, “Eat This, Not That for Kids,” as being ‘America’s Healthiest Restaurant for Kids.’ “We have been intentional about offering a variety of healthier options for children over the past several years. We now offer a fruit cup as side option as part of our Kid’s Meals, and children also have a variety of beverage choices, including milk, apple juice, or freshly squeezed lemonade. Offering a menu with zero grams of trans fat is a strong complement to our nutritional efforts for children.”

Burger King & Chick-fil-a Eliminate Trans Fats

Burger King announced today that all artificial Trans Fats will be eliminated from their menu items by November 1, 2008.

"Removing artificial trans fats from our cooking oils and ingredients is another example of our BK Positive Steps nutrition program," said Burger King Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John W. Chidsey. "Many Burger King restaurants have been using trans fat free cooking oils for several months, and our customers tell us that their favorite menu items taste the same, or even better. This is a result of our rigorous operational standards, supply requirements, and extensive consumer taste tests."

Burger King will be transitioning to two proprietary blends of three oils.

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According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chick-fil-a announced yesterday that they would be eliminating Trans Fat from their foods. We've requested more info from Chick-fil-a.

Chick-fil-a's New Chick-n-Strips Giveaway

Chick-fil-a is promoting their Chick-n-Strips by giving them away free on Labor Day, September 1, 2008, to anyone wearing a football team logo.

Visit any participating Chick-fil-A restaurant wearing your favorite football team’s attire or logo on Labor Day, Sept. 1, 2008, from 10:30 a.m. until close and get one free order of our new Chick-n-Strips (3-count). Limit one order per person while supplies last. [complete giveaway rules]

The 3-count Chick-n-Strips have 350 calories, 150 calories from fat, 17 grams total fat, 3.5 grams saturated fat, no trans fat, 95 mg cholesterol, 1040 mg sodium, 17 grams carbohydrates, 2 grams fiber, 3 grams sugars, 33 grams protein.

Dress like a cow for free food at Chick-fil-a

For Chick-fil-a's "Cow Appreciation Day," on Friday, July 11, Chick-fil-a will be giving a free combo meal to anyone who comes in dressed as a cow "from head to hoof."

Visit Chick-fil-a's Cow Appreciate Day site (www.cowappreciationday.com) for more info.

Chick-fil-a calendar and video contest

Calendar:
Chick-fil-a's 2008 Cow Calendar will feature "One-Hit Wonder Cows" in 2008.

This will be the 11th year that Chick-fil-a has produced their Cow Calendar. One-Hit Wonder Cow highlights include Junior Double-Cheese Jr. singing “Chicken Ain’t Cheatin’,” Spicy Skirtsteak’s hit “Gimme Chicken One More Time,” and Veal Medallion crooning “Chickens in the Night.”

The calendars will cost $5 and will include more than $30 in Chick-fil-A food coupons. Chick-fil-A is also offering a free calendar to customers who purchase a re-loadable Chick-fil-A Card in the amount of $20 or more. In addition, four plush toy versions of the One-Hit Wonder Cows will be available for purchase at $4.99 each.

Video Contest:

Chick-fil-a has a video contest to celebrate their 40th anniversary. Starting tomorrow (November 13) Chick-fil-A is launching an online video contest to find the brand’s greatest fan in the country. Chick-fil-A fans can submit a video – up to one minute in length – "that creatively pleads their case as to why they believe they are the brand’s most passionate fan."

The prize is 40 months of free Chick-fil-A Combo Meals, a trip for two to Atlanta to visit the corporate headquarters, and Chick-fil-A merchandise.

You can watch Chick-fil-a's President, Dan Cathy, explain the contest here:

Chick-fil-a's new shake for St. Patrick's day

Chick-fil-a will be introducing a new hand-spun Mint Cookies and Cream Milkshake starting on St. Patrick's Day (March 17). It will be available through June 30th.

The new shake includes Oreo cookies and mint flavoring and will be available in a 20 oz. cup and priced at $2.79.

“The Mint Cookies and Cream Milkshake is just plain fun,” said Woody Faulk, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of brand development. “Following last year’s highly successful rollout of Hand-Spun Milkshakes, we wanted to let our customers know that we appreciate their enthusiastic support of the shakes – and that we have a few surprises in store for them!”

Chick-fil-a's Cookies and Cream Milkshake has 790 calories, 300 calories from fat, 33g total fat, 18g saturated fat, .5g trans fat 95mg cholesterol, 660mg sodium, 111g carbohydrates, 1g fiber, and 100g sugars.

2007 Chick-fil-a Cows calendar

The 2007 incarnation of the (in)famous Chick-fil-a Cow Calendar is ready for you to pick up at your local Chick-fil-a restaurant. A perfect stocking stuffer priced at just 5 bucks.

This is the 10th year that Chick-fil-A’s “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows have taken on some entertaining roles as stars of the chain’s annual Cow Calendar – from super heroes to secret agents to television stars. The theme for the 10th edition of the calendar, "The Good, The Bad & The Hairy", has the Cows donning boots, spurs, lassos and 10-gallon hats.

You can get yours at your local Chick-fil-a or at www.chick-fil-a.com

Here's an inside look at the calendar:

Last Taurus to Chick-fil-a founder

Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-a, owes a lot to the workers at Ford Motor Company's plant in Hapeville, GA.

His Dwarf House restaurant was located across the street from the plant an due in part to the workers' heavy patronage of it he was able to start his Chick-fil-a restaurant chain.

The Ford Taurus has been produced at the plant for the past 9 years and now Cathy has purchased the last Taurus to come off the production line at the plant tomorrow.

Cathy long ago pledge exclusivity to Ford products for his business and often rewards employees with Ford cars.

Chick-fil-a's million nugget giveaway

In aid of promoting their party trays, Chick-fil-a currently has a Million Nugget Giveaway promotion.

The promotion is co-branded with the Dr. Pepper and the NCAA conferences: ACC, SEC and the Big 12.

Entering at the Million Nugget web site gives you a chance at a trip for 2 to the ACC, SEC or Big 12 championship game, where you'll compete for a chance to throw for up to $1 million, or one of over 15,000 small Chick-fil-a nugget trays. The first 300,000 entrants will also receive a coupon for a free large Dr. Pepper at Chick-fil-a.

I'm thinking it's an effective promotion because until I entered I wasn't aware that Chick-fil-a had party trays. Actually, they've got 10 different ones: Nuggets Tray, Chick-n-Strips Tray, Cool Wrap Tray, Cool Wrap and Chicken Salad Sandwich Tray, Chicken Salad Sandwich Tray, Fruit Tray, Fudge Nut Brownie Tray, Cheesecake Tray, Chick-n-Minis Tray, Cinnamon Clusters Tray.

Parachuting cows from Chick-fil-a

Chick-fil-a's newest TV ad featuring the "Eat Mor Chickin" cows has them parachuting into an NFL game and attacking the hamburger vendor. Funny stuff. Watch it here:

Chick-fil-a sweetens lemonade with Splenda

Lemonade is one of Chick-fil-a's most frequently ordered beverages; they squeeze over 71 million lemons (freshly, on-site) each year. They have recently changed the recipe for their diet lemonade to include Splenda.

"We have continued to work with our original recipe in order to maintain our high quality throughout the years," said Chick-fil-A Dietitian Jodie Worrell. "Not only are we proud to start a relationship with the SPLENDA® Brand, but we feel our customers will appreciate our continued commitment to using premium sugar substitutes in our Diet Lemonade recipe."

I'm a fan of Splenda and have been using it to make my own lemonade at home for a couple years now. You'll find some folks that complain that Splenda isn't natural and contains dangerous chemicals (much like the complaints about the most used artificial sweetener Aspartame, aka Nutrasweet), but I haven't read any convincing scientific proof. What I do know is that Splenda tastes a lot more like sugar than Aspartame.

Chick-fil-a's diet lemonade is a good alternative for anyone that wants to spare themselves excess calories from soft drinks loaded with high fructose corn syrup, but still enjoy something that tastes sweet.

Chick-fil-a's diet lemonade contains Freshly-squeezed lemon juice, water, Splenda® (dextrose, maltodextrin, sucralose). The 21 oz. large diet lemonade has only 50 calories, 10 mg sodium, 12 g carbs, and 6 g sugars. Their regular (non-diet) large lemonade has 390 calories and 93 g sugars.

Astros get 'fowl poles' from Chick-fil-a

Chick-fil-a and the Houston Astros baseball club will unveil new 'fowl poles' (aka foul poles) at Minute Maid Park in Houston tomorrow and the first 30,000 Astros fans at tomorrow's game (July 25) will receive a coupon for a free Chick-fil-a sandwich.

The yellow right and left field poles at the ballpark feature three cows wearing Astros hats. The baseball-themed Cows are hanging off both poles in fair territory and carrying their message of “Eat Mor Fowl.”

The Chick-fil-A signage will also serve as a target for Astro players. When an Astro hits a ball that touches any portion of the poles, including the Cows, Chick-fil-A will award free chicken sandwiches to all fans in attendance for that game.

“The Astros are excited about this new partnership,” said Astros President of Business Operations Pam Gardner. “Activation is so integral in a sports sponsorship, and this is a unique and successful way to brand Chick-fil-A at Minute Maid Park.”

“The greater Houston-area Chick-fil-A Operators are excited to partner with such an outstanding organization as the Astros,” said Bryan Bullington, Owner/Operator of Chick-fil-A Pearland. “The Cows on the ‘Fowl Poles’ are just waiting to give away free chicken sandwiches to Astros fans. We hope that there are several players who will hit the signs this season.”

Chick-fil-a not pleased with ad imitation

The Lawrence Journal-World reports:

Doug Holiday — an owner of Lawrence’s Bigg’s Bar & Grill...received a letter from the company’s law firm asking him to “cease and forever desist” using an advertising campaign that plays off Chick-fil-A’s popular spots: a cow carrying a sign that reads, “Eat Mor Chikin.”

Holiday had put his own spin on the marketing gimmick by hiring employees of his barbecue restaurant to dress in a chicken suit and carry a sign that read, “Eat Mor Pork, the other white meat.”

Cow appreciation day at Chick-fil-a

Chick-fil-a's 2nd annual Cow Appreciation Day promotion will take place next week. Chick-fil-a is offering a free combo meal (breakfast, lunch or dinner) to any customer who visits one of its restaurants fully dressed as a cow on Friday, July 14.

So go ahead... dress up like an cow and chow down for free.

Despite Cow Appreciation Day being an 'unofficial' national holiday for years, last year was the first time Chick-fil-a tied the holiday to their “Eat Mor Chikin” Cows marketing campaign.

“Cow Appreciation Day turned out to be a huge success,” said Steve Robinson, Chick-fil-A’s senior vice president of marketing. “Although we really didn’t know what to expect when we planned the promotion last year, it was clear that our customers were looking for a fun way to celebrate and help the cows, and for a free Chick-fil-A meal, of course. I guess you could say it was ‘udder insanity.’”

Chick-fil-a's remote drive-thru

A new Chick-fil-a store in Houston has the city's first fully manned, double drive-through. The fascinating feature of this drive-through is the second, or 'remote' lane.

In the 'remote' lane you pull up to the window of a booth that is not part of the main building. There is a person to greet you at this drive-through window, but how does the food get to this booth you ask? The food is transported in a basket on a conveyor belt along the roof from the main restaurant to the booth; the food & drinks are kept upright by a gyroscopic mechanism.

This new Chick-fil-A is huge, with 165 seats inside and patio seating for 32.

An article in the Houston Chronicle also tells of the restaurant's "breathtaking design...bold, sweeping lines and risk-taking use of windows."

Chick-fil-A tests new spicy sandwich

Chick-fil-a is test marketing a grilled chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese, habanera peppers and smoky chipotle sauce. The sandwich also comes with a lime wedge, which Chick-fil-A claims is a "first for any quick-service restaurant chain." The test marketing of the new spicy chargrilled chicken sandwich is limited to Southwest Florida. [R&I]

Chick-fil-a introduces gourmet coffee

Chick-fil-a is following its breakfast menu expansion of earlier in the year with the introduction of the Cafe Blends Coffee line; fast food's first premium coffee program to offer three blends of coffee. Cafe Blends Coffee is available in three specialty blends, Coffeehouse Light, Bistro Dark and Expressly Decaf. Chick-fil-a is also introducing the Cinnamon Cluster, a fresh-baked mini swirl, filled with sweet cinnamon, cream butter and whole eggs, with creamy vanilla icing.