Ok, David, now that you’ve convinced me to return to blogging, I’m going to have to make a pest of myself.
First up: The issue of Saatchi & Saatchi’s pig-tailed play in the woods.
To catch everyone else up:
AdFreak’s David Griner – and, in fairness, other industry notables – have panned the new Wendys spot as too long, derivative and flatly executed. Here’s why I think the spot was smart, strategic and an overall win:
Real estate: Chain-wide, Wendys has 6600 stores. Compare that to category leaders: McDonalds at 31,045 and BK at 11,184. They don’t have the built-in marketing hammer of being top-of-mind via ubiquitous presence. When lunch time rolls around, Wendys needs you to be so wanting their square burger that you actively seek it out. In :60 seconds they pounded that brand and the idea of a hot and juicy burger into memory.
Client culture: I wonder what decades of casting cuddly founder Dave Thomas as the primary brand spokesperson have done to the marketing culture at Wendys. I would guess it’s fairly conservative. This is a huge and bold departure – one they should really be proud of in terms of contemporizing the brand and niche-ing their approach to the market.
Noise: You watched it, right? The visual is ridiculous; the audio is unexpected. It broke out of its 3-minute Idol pod and got watched. That’s successful.
After-School Special Effect: I’m not convinced Saatchi was following Crispin. The spot actually seems a little snarky – almost making fun of the category. It’s got that feel of intentionally-off on authenticity … think: after school specials. And, I’m guessing Wendys customer is a little older than BKs – so, that might be just the right tone and fit.
Anybody out there from Saatchi? Come on, tell me I’m close…
David: Here’s one as annoying as those BK ads, linked just for you
I have to disagree – These spots are terrible. For a chain touting freshness, they've arrived late to a now stale approach.
Posted by: These spots are awful | July 09, 2007 at 09:29 PM
This commercial is definitely one that grabbed my attention.
Don't laugh, but I only now figured out why the guy on red pig tails on- not sure what that says.
But watching this again, there is an element of existentialism at play here- I mean, why are they kicking tree trunks in the middle of nowhere.
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Posted by: Mark Vane | June 23, 2007 at 07:18 AM
Just an observation... but the only channel I have seen this commercial run on is BET....
take it for what it is...
Posted by: Sarah | June 20, 2007 at 03:25 PM
Advergirl
Welcome back to blogging. I missed you
Posted by: Richard-in-Tokyo | June 18, 2007 at 07:35 AM
This is my current favorite on Tv. And when I say favorite, I mean that I will rewind off of my favorite shows to watch this spot twice.
And I tell you this not because I can consume a double bacon classic in 3 bites...
Posted by: Jac Madsen | June 15, 2007 at 08:33 PM
Honest question: Is there really a "Crispin style" for ads?
Posted by: Rogeliou | June 15, 2007 at 04:12 PM
Leigh, you know I'm a fan, but...
You somewhat argue my own point for me. Both BK and McDonalds (and I love the Filet ah'Fish spot, for the record) have gone for the surreal and quizzical with their spots. That left Wendy's new campaign feeling pretty bandwagon.
A key reason this spot annoys me is because I actually LIKE Wendy's. It doesn't take much to show their quality is considerably higher than McDonald's. In my opinion, BK can't really make that quality argument as easily, so they went for the weird. What's Wendy's excuse?
Posted by: David Griner | June 15, 2007 at 03:42 PM