The Airheads chicken sandwich is a chewy, crunchy, sugar-coated treat

Hold onto your buns, the latest salvo in the fried chicken wars has a 100% candy bun

Published On
Jul 06, 2021

Editor's Pick

Today, July 6th, 2021, is a momentous day for chicken sandwich enthusiasts with a sweet tooth. To celebrate National Fried Chicken Day, Airheads has entered the Chicken Sandwich Wars with a truly one-of-a-kind sandy that will have candy-cravers salivating.

The pièce de résistance of the Airheads chicken sandwich is the bun made from 100% sweet and sour Airheads Xtremes Belts. Between the fused-candy buns is a more traditional chicken sandwich experience: fried chicken, coleslaw, spicy mayo and pickles. There is no Airheads candy in the chicken or its breading.

Airheads' Chicken Sandwich

The Kentucky-based sweets brand is confident that its sandwich will claim victory over the hordes of chicken sandwich contenders throughout the past years. "The world will finally see what’s been missing in chicken," said Craig Cuchra, VP of marketing for Perfetti Van Melle North America, maker of Airheads, in a statement.

Unfortunately, Ad Age couldn't see the Airheads bun in all its glory, as the sandwich was only offered in bite-size tasting samples during lunch hours today at Chicago’s Frances’ Deli & Brunchery. Fortunately, Ad Age senior reporter Jessica Wohl was at the scene with Chef Derek Rylon to get the juice on this sugar-coated delicacy.

 

Beautiful presentation of Airheads Chicken Sandwich

At first bite, the sample tasted like one of the many sandwiches out there, with a juicy, crispy piece of fried chicken, pickle, pieces of lettuce and cabbage, and a spicy honey mustard sauce that adds some flavor without overpowering the tried-and-true fried chicken sandwich basics. Then, the Airheads flavor—and chewy texture—kicked in. The savory-meets-sweet concoction is only available in miniature form for now, but organizers are hopeful they can secure a food truck to share it beyond the restaurant counter. 

Airheads chicken sandwich

 

Credits

Date
Jul 06, 2021
Client :
Airheads
Agency :
Highdive
Agency :
Spool Marketing and Communications
VP of Marketing North America :
Craig Cuchra
Brand Director Airheads :
Jamey Lamb
Associate Brand Manager :
Andreina Tirado Amaya
Co-Founder/CCO :
Chad Broude
Associate Creative Director / Art Director :
Philipe Dião
Associate Creative Director / Copywriter :
Aaron Cathey
Art Director :
Erin Nedelman
Copywriter :
Tim Flemke
Creative :
Ian Reichenthal
Managing Partner Account and Strategy Lead :
Megan Lally
Account Director :
Julie Merkin
Account Executive :
Colleen Ferguson
Producer :
Kam McAllister
Director of Business Affairs :
Kelley Beaman
Production Business Manager :
Annie Paganini
Production Company :
Dictionary Films
Director :
Stephen Winterhalter
Managing Director :
Chris Rossiter
Producer :
Cody McGuire
Offline Edit :
Cutters
Editor :
Billy Montross
Assistant Editor :
Jack Taylor
Producer :
Natalie Stone
Color/Finish :
Flavor
Color :
Chris Elliott
Finishing :
Patrick Wong
Producer :
Wendy Umanzor
Audio :
Another Country
Sound Design/Mix :
Peter Erazmus
Audio Assist :
Cathryn Stark
Producer :
Weezy Rider

Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors