It’s no surprise that many stores nowadays team up with popular games to boost sales and marketing. Not long ago, a collaboration between KFC and Genshin Impact kicked off a cosplay festival for the game, which helped skyrocket sales for both the fried chicken chain and publisher Mihoyo. Even when the PlayStation 5 launched, KFC ran a similar campaign. But recently, one fried chicken shop came up with a clever twist on this idea, choosing Elden Ring as their game of choice.
Recently, a bold fried chicken shop suddenly went viral, not because of their tasty chicken, but because the owner placed a PC right at the checkout counter with Elden Ring running on the screen. Their slogan was “10 yuan per try,” inviting gamers to take on an Elden Ring boss fight. If you win, you get a prize from the shop. If you lose, you pay 10 yuan (about 35,000 VND) and try again.
In a video posted by the shop, two elementary school students became the first “victims.” The first player lasted only 7 seconds before falling to the boss, and the second didn’t fare much better. This challenge quickly caught the attention of gamers. Many said the challenge isn’t too hard for those who’ve spent time mastering the bosses. But for casual customers just there for fried chicken, it’s definitely not easy.
Credit has to go to the shop owner for the creative idea. Whether winning or losing, the character in the game still gains gold and upgrades, while the shop quickly gained fame. Some online critics accused the owner of exploiting the challenge to make money, but the owner denied this, saying the 10 yuan fee was just a marketing gimmick and they never actually took money from customers.
Either way, there’s no denying Elden Ring’s massive popularity right now. And not many people are clever enough to turn that hype into smart marketing like this fried chicken shop owner did.
