Captain D's Advertising Ignites a Legal Threat from Red Lobster
A television commercial sparks a seafood competitor's objection and another provocative ad from Captain D's.
By David Farkas, Senior Editor -- Chain Leader, 1/23/2009 8:27:00 AM
| Watch the Captain D's Web ad. |
A Red Lobster spokesman has only this to say when asked about Captain D's "What You Get" commercial: "We are addressing the issue through the proper channels. We will take appropriate action based on the outcome of the ongoing process."
The process began in September, when lawyers for the Orlando, Fla.-based casual-dining seafood chain dispatched a cease-and-desist letter to Captain D's. The Nashville, Tenn.-based fast-food chain, which also specializes in seafood, was running a TV ad disparaging Red Lobster's prices.
The comparative ad, which aired from August through October, is part of a value-driven campaign to convince people that Captain D's offers full-service quality and portions at fast-food prices, says Senior Vice President of Marketing Sandy Smith.
Today Captain D's is flaunting that letter in a provocative ad produced for its Web site. In it, an actor wearing a shirt emblazoned with the fast-feeder's logo and standing in front of a Red Lobster restaurant reads a portion of the letter before tearing it up.
Just Compare
In the original commercial, the same actor stood in a parking lot outside a Red Lobster unit, asking customers leaving the restaurant how much they spent. Upon hearing they paid $80 to $100 for their meals, Captain D's "staff" sets heaping plates of salmon, tilapia, shrimp and scampi from Captain D's on a nearby table.
One Red Lobster customer declares, "It looks just like the same thing we just ate." The actor responds, "Same amount of food plus $30 back."
Smith defends the commercials. "We have all the respect in world for Red Lobster," she declares. "It is not about [them] at all. Our mission is to help people understand that we offer sit-down food at fast-food prices."
She adds the cease-and-desist letter did not threaten a lawsuit. Asked why the chain waited four months to respond publicly to the letter, dated Sept. 3, Smith says, "It worked well with the ["What You Get"] ad back on air in January, and we felt it might be something of interest to consumers."
A Trend?
| Watch Domino's Cease & Desist spot. |
Marketers at Domino's Pizza of Ann Arbor, Mich., may have been thinking along the same lines. CEO David Brandon slips a cease-and-desist letter from Subway into a hot pizza oven in a spot that aired on this week's "American Idol."
The Milford, Conn.-based sandwich chain had sent the letter protesting ads in which Domino's boasted that independent research showed its sub sandwiches tasted better than Subway's.
Coincidentally, partners at Captain's D's agency of record, Goodness Mfg. of Venice, Calif., recently worked for Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, the Miami-based agency of record for Domino's.
Goodness Mfg. Partner Bob Cianfrone says he was surprised to see Domino's Pizza do something similar. He denied employing an advertising strategy that would elicit a cease-and-desist letter that later could be used for publicity purposes.
"We knew we might get [a letter] when we created the ["What You Get"] commercial," he says, adding that the Internet ad was produced only after Captain D's lawyers OKed tearing up the letter.
Domino's Vice President of Corporate Communications Tim McIntyre claims "impeccable" research allowed the company to destroy Subway's letter on TV without fear of legal action.
Dallas-based attorney and trademark specialist Kat Tidd warns companies to be careful about using comparative advertising: "They have to ask: Is it truthful? Is it misleading? Do they have substantiation?"
Bad Rash
Companies are now resorting to the tactic , for better or worse, laments former restaurant marketer Randy Lopez, now a partner at ad agency G&M Plumbing, in Manhattan Beach, Calif.
"Right now there's a rash of these commercials that grab customers off the street. What comes out is more desperation than the showcasing of your brand's strength," contends Lopez, who has seen the "What You Get" commercials.
The spots nonetheless worked for Captain D's. "We saw some significant sales increases," Smith claims, refusing to say by how much.
