| 1 | NEW YORK (AP) " Fans of Burger King's chicken fries may have the boy band One Direction and the website Buzzfeed to thank for the return of the skinny fried sticks. |
| 2 | At an event to hype a spicy version of the chicken fries coming out this week, Burger King said it decided to resurrect the fries last year after seeing the enthusiasm they generated on social media. |
| 3 | Eric Hirschhorn, chief marketing officer for Burger King North America, said the company noticed a spike in chicken fry mentions in January 2014 that was traced to a Buzzfeed post titled "35 Foods From Your Childhood That Are Extinct Now." |
| 4 | One of the items on the list was chicken fries, which Burger King sold between 2005 and 2012. |
| 5 | A few months later, Hirschhorn says there was an even bigger surge when a One Direction member mentioned them. |
| 6 | The company pointed to tweet by Liam Payne that reads, "I'm so fulllllll!!! Think I just ate my body weight in chicken fries and sides owwwwww." |
| 7 | The tweet " which has more than 94,000 retweets " is confusing because Burger King hadn't yet brought back chicken fries. |
| 8 | That raises the possibility that Payne just left out a comma, and meant to say he ate chicken and fries " not chicken fries. |
| 9 | A representative for Payne said the singer wasn't available for comment. |
| 10 | A Burger King representative said in an email: "Whatever he meant, it certainly helped catapult 'Chicken Fries' into pop culture consciousness as a follow up to the Buzzfeed story." |
| 11 | Even if Burger King misinterpreted Payne's tweet, it worked out for the company. |
| 12 | The return of chicken fries as a limited-time offer last summer was successful enough that Burger King added them to its permanent menu this March. |
| 13 | A box comes with nine pieces and costs around $3. |
| 14 | Hirschhorn said people tend to get them as an extra, which drives up the amount people spend. |
| 15 | Last month, Burger King's parent company Restaurant Brands International said sales rose 7.9 percent at established stores in the U.S. and Canada for the latest quarter. |
| 16 | Burger King may have brought back chicken fries even without the social media encouragement. |
| 17 | Since being taken over by investment firm 3G Capital, the chain has leaned heavily on its past for ideas. |
| 18 | In addition the King and Subservient Chicken characters, it has resurrected its Big King sandwich and Yumbo ham sandwich. |