Did Somebody Say "Free"?
by Mike KrumboltzOct 22, 2009
People hear the word "free" and something comes over them. They may not even like what's being given away, but who cares? The simple fact that it's on the house is enough. So, with that in mind, consumers should expect their local KFC to be overrun this coming Monday, when the house that Colonel Sanders built will give away free chicken.
But, wait, didn't KFC try this before? Yes, they did, and it did not go well. This past spring, the fast-food chain offered a similar promotion, but was ill-prepared for the mania that followed. Restaurants quickly ran out of food and had to offer rainchecks to ravenous customers. KFC insists that this time, things will be different.
A very popular article from the AP explains that roughly 5,000 KFCs "will give every U.S. customer a free piece of grilled chicken." (Note that this is just for one piece of chicken, and not a full meal.) The news is already inspiring searches. In the past 24 hours, Web lookups on "free kfc chicken" and "free chicken coupon" are through the roof. As far as we can tell, there is no coupon required. Just show up prepared to wait in line.
Of course, this is hardly the only giveaway to inspire searches. Every week, we notice thousands of queries on everything from "free college scholarships" to "free music videos" to "free credit score." Below, we've tracked down the top twenty "free" Web searches from the past week. These are the things people want, but don't want to pay for. Is it any surprise that "free music" is near the top of the list?
