Burger King Attempting an Image Makeover by Giving Away Free Low-Calorie Fries This Weekend

This weekend, October 12th and 13th, Burger King BKW will hand out free ‘Satisfries' to anyone. No strings attached.

The fries will be portioned value-sized, which is priced at $1.29 in most stores. BK expects to hand out more than 10 million of these value-sized fries over the weekend.

Satisfries is a recently introduced crinkle-cut fry with 30 percent less fat and 20 percent fewer calories than BK's previous fries. It also boasts 40 percent less fat and 30 percent fewer calories compared to McDonald's MCD current fries.

"Many of our guests have already fallen in love with new Satisfries and if you haven't tasted them, you're missing out," said Alex Macedo, the president of Burger King. "We invite our guests to bring family and friends to their local Burger King restaurants over the weekend to taste Satisfries and let us know if they're as satisfied as we are."

While the quality and the taste of the new fries is a highly debated topic, the PR campaign seems to be successful, especially among the health-conscious.

BK's “buzz score”, a word-of-mouth traction measurement system by the consumer perception research firm BrandIndex, has shot up since the introduction of the fries.

BK's move to reshape its image may synergize well with the recent launch of the Affordable Care Act. The implementation of the act allows companies to charge higher insurance rates towards the unhealthy or overweight and is expected to raise public awareness on caloric intake.

In addition, with the ACA requiring any restaurant with more than 20 chains to post calorie count on their menus by 2014, the new fries may practically market themselves.

Despite the Satisfries' quiet initial launch, the new fries might be what may give BK the edge in the Burger Wars.