News

Who knew? Sliders can turn you into X-Men

September 7, 2016

White Castle is using the superpowers of X-Men to persuade fans of the comic book heroes to try the chain's new spicy menu items, order online and spread the word about the new offerings on social media.

The promotion, timed to sync with the digital HD release of "X-Men: Apocalypse" on Sept. 9, has the chain partnering with Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment for a sweepstakes that will give one prize-winner a trip to the Big Apple for an X-Men makeover and photo shoot. 

White Castle customers can get a crack at the big prize with the purchase of a soft drink or slider six-pack, each of which includes a scratch-off card that reveals whether they’ve won the grand prize or one of thousands of other prizes, according to a news release about the promotion. 

The game is also being used to promote two new menu items; the Ghost Pepper cheese slider, which features an X-Men-worthy concoction of ghost pepper cheese, onion chips and chipotle mayo; and the Apocalyptic waffle slider, which pairs a Belgian waffle slider with a cracked egg, chorizo and ghost pepper cheese — presumably for customers who like to scare themselves awake in the morning. There are spicy new sides as well, including Mutant loaded fries topped with onion chips, cheese sauce, barbecue sauce and bacon crumbles.

"You have to be brave to handle ghost pepper and our new 'X-Treme' menu offerings will certainly put our cravers' taste buds to the test," said White Castle Vice President Jamie Richardson. "They aren't for the faint of heart." 

White Castle is using the promotion to push social media sharing and online ordering. For instance, customers who order an "X-Men: Apocalypse" Crave Case online get $5 off using the promo code XMEN. The same goes for diners who try these hot new items and share the word on social media with a special hashtag. 

The sweepstakes continues until Dec. 31 or whenever the chain runs out of game pieces. The grand prize winner will be announced Jan. 31.