It seems the force is strong in the marketing team behind a Belgian fast food chain, as news about a trio of Star Wars-themed burgers, including the “Dark Vador” made with ghoulishly black buns, has gone viral around the world.
Created to promote the upcoming re-release of “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” in 3D, Quick’s “Dark Vador” and “Jedi” burgers have attracted international media attention around the world, including coverage on major US networks like Fox News and CNN as well as other mainstream media outlets in the UK and Canada.
Tweeps were also atwitter about the Star Wars-themed sandwiches, some expressing disgust, others lamenting the fact that the burgers won’t be available in the US, and others still using the blackened buns of the sandwich that pays tribute to the character of Darth Vader — known as “Dark Vador” in French — as a test of people’s loyalty to the franchise.
“You’re telling me you wouldn’t eat a #DarthVader burger?… I find your lack of faith disturbing,” wrote one diehard fan.
Meanwhile, to placate consumers put off by the thought of eating what looks like a char-burned burger, Quick has demystified what makes the buns so dark, telling French newspaper L’Express yesterday that it used a vegetable-based colorant commonly used to dye confectionery, E153. In place of black licorice flavourings, however, the bread tastes of black pepper and poppy seed.
The burger itself is a spicy sandwich by French standards, made with two beef patties, lettuce, tomato, a pepper sauce as well as a black and red pepper cheddar cheese.
Some fans may be disappointed to see that the Jedi burger, meanwhile, is decidedly less sexy with nary a drop of Yoda-green in sight, as it’s made with regular white buns and what appears to be cheese curds.
And a third sandwich, the “Dark Burger”, will round out the collection and pay tribute to Darth Maul with a slightly red tinge to the buns, courtesy of beets and paprika. It, too, is topped with black poppy seeds and black pepper.
This latest burger-cinema collaboration is a far cry from that of Burger King which promoted Star Wars movies in the US with a collection of commemorative drinking glasses and posters during the 1970s.
The Quick burgers will be launched across France on January 31 and be available until March.