Crispin Porter + Bogusky may have been retired by Burger King, but their final effort for the fast feeder is a great example of work designed to affect behavior to drive trial and, dare we say, sales!
After Crispin was fired, I posted on the fact that much of CP+B's work for BK, while buzz-worthy and award-winning, mostly failed to move the needle:
"For seven years, CP+B garnered recognition, awards and peer accolades, and also much criticism for its Burger King work... from "Subservient Chicken" to sometimes bizarre and creepy "King" commercials to "Whopper Sacrifice". The problem is, that apart from an initial boost in sales, Crispin basically failed to help BK sell more stuff in the long run... much like their predecessors."
But maybe Wopper Lust will be their pièce de résistance.. it's a great, idea.
In a nutshell, the agency bought a channel on DirecTV (111). The only thing you'll see on it is a spinning Whopper on a flaming grill and a timer... that's it. Stare at it for five minutes and I guarantee you'll be getting hungry; you'll also get a free Whopper! Stare at it for 10 minutes and you'll be drooling... and you'll get TWO free Whoppers. Stare at it all night and, well... you get the idea.
According to an article on Agency Spy, CP+B, Burger King's already given away 50,000 Whoppers this week, and they're guessing America will have watched the Whopper for 13,500 hours (810,000 minutes) before the wekend. The same article has the details on how the promotion works.
This time around, it's not just buzz without measurable, real ROI. Whopper Lust has literally put the Whopper back in the spotlight. It's driving trial, and we're betting it will drive sales, too.
Kudos to Crispin!
Good idea. But anytime you give away the product for free, you'll get some attention!
Posted by: Name Withheld | 06/16/2011 at 03:53 PM