September/October Fast Food Ad Campaign Round Up
By Jesse | October 10, 2009
Welcome to a new Fast Food Reviewed column, the Ad Campaign Round up. As some of my readers know, by day I’m employed in the marketing/advertising industry, so I have a particular love for fast food ads.
Wendy’s
Possibly the biggest fast food advertising news this week is Wendy’s new “Its’s Real” campaign. This is a big move for Wendy’s with their bran spankin new ad agency, the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Publicis Group. The campaign seeks to set Wendy’s apart as being “real” and “fresher” than the competition. Below is the launch spot.
Overall, I’m not thrilled with the spots. It doesn’t feel like a huge departure from the “Its not Fast Food, It’s Wendy’s” campaign currently running. Its just an extension of the claim that Wendy’s is not fast food, this time with by focusing on “freshness”. I’m not sure that fast food consumers really care about how fresh their burgers are. Wendy’s really needs a winner, and has had almost five campaign changes in the last 5 years. These spots just aren’t doing it for me.
Be prepared for a media blitz starting this weekend. See more spots here.
Burger King
This first one is a few months old. Its for a Singapore exclusive-sandwich called the Super Seven Incher.
Um…OK. What ever happened to subtly? Truthfully, this ad just disgusts me, and in no way makes me want to try a Super Seven Incher from BK.
Burger King has also been all over the airwaves promoting their $1 double cheeseburger, at least in the Chicago area, with the plan to launch nationally on October 19th. The ads take a direct shot at McDonald’s McDouble, claiming that their burger offers “more beef” than McDonalds. Can you smell Burger Wars? Great, more cheap, unhealthy environmentally unfriendly fast food. Just what America needs. Apparently, franchises are upset since Burger King will actually be selling their burger at a loss. Sounds like an unsustainable business plan to me.
Taco Bell
Evander Holyfield sports drag in a recent T-Bell campaign for their Half Pounder burritos. In the spot he orders 2 Half Pounders, one for him and one for his “mother”, which is just the Champ dressed in drag.
First off, sorry, its not 1995. Evendar Holyfield is not a relevant celebrity. Second, the commercial is cliche, boring, and lacks solid marketing strategy. We get it, Evendar is a big dude, and its a big burrito.
McDonalds
The King of all fast food promotions, McDonalds’ Monopoly Game is back. This time, McDonalds is partnering with NBC and the Jay Leno show for a 29-day live promotion. Basically, customers register their stamps online at www.playmcd.com. If they land on the “Chance Online” they get a chance to win $1 million on the Jay Leno show. The catch is, the actor has to roll a pair of sixes. If they don’t the customer still gets $10,000. See a clip below.
I think this is another brilliant promotion by McDonalds. In stark contrast to Wendy’s, McDonalds is all about brand consistency. The Monopoly game has been around for years and years, and they still manage to find a way to keep it fresh. They’ve even created a really nice microsite for the promotion, I recommend checking it out here.
Apparently PETA, (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is none too happy with Jay Leno over his endorsement of Mickey-Ds. They’ve set up protests outside the NBC studios in Burbank, CA, where “The Jay Leno Show” is shot. They are protesting what they call McDonalds inherently inhumane ways that the company’s US suppliers handle their chickens. In one particularly gruesome protest tactic, PETA members are handing out “Un-Happy Meals” with rubber chickens covered in fake blood.
While I’m sure there are significant problems in the slaughtering of chickens in the US, I don’t think PETAs tactics are the best way to get the message out. I think it would be much better just to direct consumers to go see Food, Inc..
Well that’s it for the first installment of the Fast Food Reviewed’s Ad Campaign Round Up. Check back in the coming months for an update.
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