October 16, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

World-famous singer Celine Dion stars in this commercial for St-Hubert, a Canadian restaurant chain that specializes in rotisserie chicken.

I don't know French. I took Spanish in high school. But I think the closing screen is telling us the spot is supporting cystic fibrosis research. I imagine the dialog goes something like this:

Customer: Hey, lady. You kind of look like Celine Dion.

Waitress: Why thank you. I get that all the time at the curling tournaments and hockey games I go to. But actually, Celine Dion is thin and beautiful and working in Las Vegas to support her family. Unless there were some sort of charity involved, she would never eat at this rotisserie-chicken chain.

Celine Dion: That'...Read More

Industries: Marketing

October 13, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (6)

Wendy's "you know when it's real" commercials are on the air, and I am relieved. Really.

I never liked the "better than fast food" tag. Wendy's is fast food. And those crazy red wigs? Don't get me started.

What I like most about the new spots isn't the fact that they're clever, though they are. It's the focus on fresh, juicy burgers. They remind me of the old commercials where Wendy's customers needed lots of napkins because they were dripping all over themselves. Ah, a point of differentiation! 

Here is the 60-second extended version. What do you think? Reply in the comment box below.

...Read More
Industries: Marketing

October 7, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

This is not a restaurant chain commercial. It's kind of a restaurant industry commercial. In a departure from our typical post, enjoy this look at some special restaurant operators, the winners of the National Restaurant Association's 2009 Restaurant Neighbor Awards.


This is one of the reasons I love this industry.

If you have a restaurant-chain commercial or other video you'd like to see in this space, send an e-mail to ...Read More
Industries: Human Resources, Marketing

October 1, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (2)

Starting tomorrow and through this weekend, Starbucks is offering a taste test of their instant Via product against a regular coffee. 

The commercial is funny, and choosing Nancy Giles, who you might know from CBS News Sunday Morning, was a brilliant choice for a smart but slightly sarcastic narrator. 

But I find it interesting that the brand, which was built on coffee-as-experience, would choose to promote that you don't need the experience after all. What do you think? Comment in the box below.

By the way, while looking for this commercial, I found tha...Read More

Industries: Marketing, Menu Development

September 18, 2009 | Link This | Email this | Comments (0)

Have you been following T.G.I. Friday's Woody campaign? The story goes that Friday's fan Woody challenges the restaurant chain: If he can get half a million Facebook fans, Friday's has to give all his fans a free Jack Daniel's burger or chicken sandwich. Woody reached that goal earlier this week and upped the ante, and is now trying to recruit a million fans.

Maybe you've seen the commercials, which seem to be running on all the network and basic cable channels in prime time. It's kind of a clever way to get Facebook fans, who Friday's can then entice with other offers, knowing they already have an affinity for the chain--or at least for free stuff. 

But the campaign and the commercials felt a little contrived to me. (No offense to anyone with that nam...Read More
Industries: Marketing