Jack in the Box Campaign on Life Support
Is Jack in the Box’s new viral marketing campaign really worth $3 million? The jury is still out.
The fast food chain kicked off a multi-week campaign during the Super Bowl on Sunday that puts into question the fate of the company’s founder, Jack.
The commerical, which cost about $3 million to air during the Super Bowl, shows Jack getting hit by a bus while walking across a street trying to sell Jack in the Box food. And the ending? It’s a cliffhanger. Will Jack survive? To find out, the eatery drives people to a microsite to check on Jack’s condition.
The campaign is a quirky branding stunt, but it doesn’t have much meat to it (excuse the pun). The site features a few “get well” videos and a banner that says, “In lieu of sending flowers, please order anything on the menu, anytime of say. Jack would want it that way.”
But the stunt has people reacting. Nearly 250 million have logged into the Web site, a company spokesperson said. Well wishers by the thousands are adding words of encouragement to the site where visitors can post their own. So far, more than 13,000 well wishes have been posted. Customers can also get mobile updates by texting “Update” to Jack5. Or they can send their get well thoughts by snail mail to the company. Better yet, there’s also a link to Twitter.
Such viral marketing campaigns create lots of buzz, but is this tactic really going to help the chain sell more burgers? Food was the last thing on my mind when I saw poor Jack get creamed by a bus. I think I’ll reach for a Tums instead.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:53 am
My question: What is the objective of this campaign?
Our agency develops and executes social media campaigns for CPG companies (and quick serve restaurants). We often ask ourselves “why do I care” and more importantly, why would the consumer care? Is Jack so stitched in the psyche of the average burger-buying consumer that they will actually care what happens? More importantly, is this campaign mostly about building brand affinity, driving sales or simply reinforcing existing brand perceptions? I will check back later this year to see how sales were influenced - it will certainly be an interesting case study. A social media (hopefully viral) campaign with such a hefty budget is remarkable (I’m jealous). But, in 2009, my social media recommendation would focus first on $$ value – and yes – value and cost savings can go viral in a big way.
Just ask Denny’s.
Dan Curran
President
NGAGE
www.NGAGENOW.com