Boston Market promotion plays on Election Day themes

Boston Market launched Tuesday new Market Bowl menu options with an election season twist: Consumers can cast a vote for either “right wing” turkey or “left wing” chicken.

The Market Bowls are the chain’s latest limited-time offer, which includes the choice of rotisserie chicken, roasted turkey breast or meatloaf, along with two sides. All ingredients are combined in one bowl and topped with the choice of beef gravy, poultry gravy or one of three sauces: mild zesty barbecue, a medium-hot sweet Thai garlic, or medium-hot honey habanero.

Presenting the Market Bowl Poll as an opportunity for Americans to vote on issues that “really matter,” Boston Market is offering consumers who participate at www.marketbowlpoll.com a chance to earn a “bipartisan” buy-one-get-one-free coupon at any of the chain’s 476 restaurants nationwide.

In videos on the Market Bowl Poll microsite, the chicken platform calls its opposing candidate a “bunch of turkeys” who “donated millions to anti-flavor groups.” If elected, the “left wing” promises affordable bowl meals and a “balanced approach to tastiness.”

The “right wing” turkey platform, on the other hand, charges that its opponent voted against gravy as a savory topping and is “too chicken” to truly create a new taste sensation. The turkey party promises “fiscal discipline” and the restoration of “common sense affordability” at mealtime.

While meatloaf doesn’t have a political “party” representing it on the chain’s microsite, company officials hinted that voters may be hearing more from the ground beef candidate as the election season progresses.

Priced at $6.99, Market Bowls will be available through Nov. 24, but the buy-one-get-one offer ends on Sept. 15. Consumers can cast their votes through Election Day on Nov. 6. Other coupons will be available after the limited-time offer wraps up.

The online votes will be tallied on Nov. 7 to determine the winning fowl. By then, the world will also likely know who will be elected president of the United States.

“Our 2012 Bowl Poll will determine whether the ‘Left Wing’ Market Bowl or the ‘Right Wing’ Market Bowl rules the roost at Boston Market,” said George Michel, the chain’s chief executive, in a statement. “In a year when campaign promises sometimes fall short, these candidates can guarantee consumers will be rewarded come Election Day, no matter which side claims victory as top bird.”

Based in Golden, Colo., Boston Market has been reworking its brand over the past two years with a revamp dubbed “America’s Kitchen Table.” The new Market Bowls are “in tune with what younger people and females expect,” Michel told Nation’s Restaurant News earlier this summer.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with revised dates of the Market Bowl limited-time offer.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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