• by Teresa Buyikian , February 7, 2024

 

Forget any other Valentine’s Day QSR promos. A&W has upped the ante with a sweepstakes whose prize is a diamond ring. OK, it’s a diamond ring created from the remains of the chain’s new Quarter Pound Cod Sandwich -- but there's still nothing else as classy to make relationships “o-fish-ial” this Feb. 14.

As part of the sandwiches’ limited time launch this month, A&W commissioned the one-of-a-kind ring in partnership with LifeGem, a company that memorializes the dead by extracting carbon from cremated remains. The carbon is then placed in a machine that mimics the heat and pressure under the earth’s crust for several months to form an actual, one-of-a-kind diamond.

The A&W ring was made out of the cremated remains of a half-dozen A&W Quarter Pound Cod Sandwiches, then cut and fitted into a ring setting. The orange-colored diamond weighs in at one carat.

“A diamond is forever,” said Liz Bazner, senior director of marketing for A&W Restaurants, in a release. “So while A&W's new Quarter Pound Cod Sandwich might only be available for a limited time, our exclusive ring will serve as a fin-tastic reminder of when you first hooked your sweetheart." (Keep those fish puns coming!)

In addition to the ring, A&W also released a full jewelry collection, created in some part with actual ingredients from the Cod Sandwich and A&W’s Root Beer Float. Items include a charm bracelet featuring individual stones for buns, pickles, lettuce, tartar sauce and cod. There are also Cod Sandwich cufflinks and a pendant necklace, as well as teardrop Root Beer Float earrings.

Customers can enter for a chance to win the diamond ring and other jewelry from the collection through the company’s website or by commenting on applicable A&W posts on Facebook, X, Instagram or TikTok until Feb 14. Non-winning Rooty’s Mug Club loyalty members near a participating A&W location will receive a coupon for BOGO Quarter Pound Cod Sandwiches on Valentine’s Day.

The new Cod Sandwich is available at select locations nationwide through April 14, and contains a beer-battered filet of wild-caught Atlantic cod (“a known aphrodisiac,” according to the company’s release) and is served on a brioche bun with tartar sauce and pickles.