Imitation is Flattery

McDonalds recently came out with their "Southern Style Chicken Sandwich" (shown at left). Now, I'm from the South, and as a result, I am extremely suspicious of anything labeled "Southern" that is not actually in the South. For example, Southern Style BBQ in Boston is, well, terrible. Southern Biscuits in Seattle = even worse. You get the picture. But McDonalds might be onto something here.

The new sandwich is quite obviously a rip-off of the classic Chicken Sandwich from Chick-Fil-A, right down to the two pickles. But this is where McDonalds went wrong - the pickles in the McDonalds sandwich are on top of the chicken breast, while the pickles on the Chick-Fil-A sandwich are below the chicken breast (as seen in the photo below). Clearly, this will be their downfall.

I've tried the McDonalds sandwich, and it's good. But it's not as good as Chick-Fil-A's sandwich. However, the nearest Chick-Fil-A to me is in Fairfield, CA, while there are approximately sixteen billion McDonalds between me and the closest Starbucks. And this is where it gets dicey. Chick-Fil-A is fairly successful, but they are not nearly as widespread as McDonalds. Plus, they aren't as well known. My worry is that in markets with both chains, customers may not be as loyal as I am, and will switch to the cheaper (and more conveniently located) McDonalds. And I don't think I could bear to live in a world without Chick-Fil-A.

But that's just me being pessimistic. My real prediction is that the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich will sell fairly well, but will be canned by Mickey D's corporate. I don't think it will be a complete failure like the Arch Deluxe or the even bigger flop, the McLean. Instead, it will be relegated to the likes of the McRib, which shows up once in a while, and is delicious, but isn't a permanent menu item. At least, that's what I hope happens - I want Chick-Fil-A to stick around.