Essay About Cpb Selection And Bks Bland Performance

Burger King Promoting a Food Fight
Essay Preview: Burger King Promoting a Food Fight
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In early 2004, as Burger Kings CEO Brad Blum
reviewed the companys 2003 performance, he
decided once again that he had to do something to
spice up BKs bland performance. Industry leader
McDonalds had just reported a 9 percent sales jump
in 2003 to a total of$22.1 billion, while number – two
BKs U.S. sales had slipped about five percent to $7.9
billion. Further, number-three Wendys sales had
spiked 11 percent to $7.4 billion, putting it in position
to overtake BK.
Blum surprised the fast-food industry by abruptly
firing the firms advertising agency, Young &
Rubicam (Y&R), and awarding its global creative
account to a small, Miami- based, upstart firm Crispin
Porter + Bogusky (CBP). The switch marked the fifth
time in four years that BK had moved its account!
Ad agency Y&R had gotten the $350 million BK
account only 10 months earlier. To help revive BKs
sales, it had developed a campaign with the theme
“The Fires Ready,” which focused on BKs flamebroiled
versus frying cooking method. However,
observers found the message to be flat and
uninspiring, and the sales decline sealed Y&Rs fate.
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
In announcing the CPB selection, Blum indicated
he had challenged the firm to develop
“groundbreaking, next-level, results-oriented, and
innovative advertising that strongly connects with our
core customers.” BK automatically became the small
firms largest customer, but CPB was not without all
impressive track record.
Chuck Porter joined Crispin Advertising in 1988.
A middle-aged windsurfer, he wanted to be near the
water. Alex Bogusky joined the firm later as a 24-
year-old art director who raced motorbikes. The
Prter-Bogusky combination clicked, and CPB racked
up local awards for its ad campaigns. A Sunglass Hut
billboard featured a huge pair of sunglasses with the
Headline “What to Wear to a Nude Beach.” Because
its clients often had little money for advertising, CPB
found inexpensive ways to gain attention. For a local
homeless shelter, it placed ads on shopping cart, trash
dumpsters, and park benches.
In 1997, with Bogusky serving as creative
director, CPB finally got national attention with its
“Truth” campaign aimed at convincing Florida teens
to stop smoking. CPB started with street-level
research, actually talking to teens in order to “get
inside their heads.” CPB found that cigarettes allowed
teens to establish identities, associate with brand
names, and take risks. To counter this, CPB created
the “Truth” logo and turned it into a brand. It
plastered the logo on everything from posters to tshirts,
developed a “Truth” Web site, and staged
impromptu live “Truth” parties around the state.
Between 1998 and 2002, teenage smoking in Florida
declined 38 percent. The American Legacy
Foundation picked up the “Truth” campaign and
turned it into a national promotion, leading to a bigbudget
ad at the Super Bowl – the “Shards OGlass
Freeze Pop.”
CPB followed with an award-winning, lowbudget
campaign for the BMW Mini Cooper auto. It
decided to violate conventional wisdom and launch
the U.S. campaign without TV advertising. It placed
the Minis inside sports stadiums as seats and on top
of SUVs driving around town. It got the car included
in centerfold pictures in Playboy and in movies like
“The Italian Job.” It also created street props such as
a coin-operated childrens ride as well as Mini games,
Mini booklets, and Mini suitcases. When BMW
finally introduced the Mini in spring 2002, the
waiting list was six months long.
Similar success with IKEA furniture and Virgin and Atlantic Airways forged CBPs reputation as an outof-
the-box,