Culture

MSCHF's Chick-fil-A prank misses the mark

How does making Chick-fil-A money help stick it to the anti-gay fast food chain?

There are quite a few reasons to get angry at fast food chain Chick-fil-A. For one thing, the company behind the popular fried chicken has donated millions to organizations that fight against same-sex marriage. Then there’s the fact that every single one of its chain locations is closed on Sundays — as if the extreme opposition to the LGBTQ community weren’t enough. This rule has received almost as much backlash over the years as the anti-gay thing.

Prankster art collective MSCHF is targeting Chick-fil-A’s Sunday sabbatical with a new drop called “MSCHF Sunday Service.” Since Chick-fil-A is unable to sell any chicken on Sundays, MSCHF is doing exactly that. For the apt price of $6.66, MSCHF will deliver a fresh chicken sandwich to you on Sunday, September 26. Just to shove it in Chick-fil-A’s face.

“‘The market finds a way,’ and, in this case, it’s the road to hell. Hail Satan and Eat Mor Chikin on holy days,” MSCHF writes in its Sunday Service manifesto. Too bad buying one of MSCHF’s sandwiches directly supports Chick-fil-A.

Sign up and see — As far as MSCHF drops go, this one’s pretty simple. Navigate to MSCHF’s dedicated Sunday Service webpage; take a few minutes to scroll and enjoy the generally demonic aesthetic; and then put your name, phone number, and zip code into the appropriate fields. If you happen to live in MSCHF’s delivery radius, you’ll receive a text with an ordering link on Sunday. Order fast, if you get one — they’re first come first serve.

If you’re not in MSCHF’s delivery area, you’ll end up with an error like the one above. MSCHF hasn’t given any indication as to where that delivery area actually is…so signing up is kind of a shot in the dark.

One glaring issue here — The limited delivery area is the least of the problems with this drop, though. More pressing is the fact that Sunday Service directly benefits Chick-fil-A. There’s no way around that fact. MSCHF is basically going to its local Chick-fil-A this Saturday and buying a truckload of chicken sandwiches, only to re-sell them on Sunday at twice the price. That means every sandwich purchased from MSCHF puts money right in Chick-fil-A’s pockets. It… doesn’t make sense.

MSCHF’s drops have, for the most part, become more refined over time. The “Famous Mouse” prank is genuinely thought-provoking; Guns2Swords brings attention to a widespread issue while also providing customers with a bad-ass sword. From this particular prank, you end up with a days-old chicken sandwich and Chick-fil-A ends up with more money in its pockets.