WARNIE CHICKEN BITES

TitleWARNIE CHICKEN BITES
BrandMCDONALD'S
Product / ServiceSUMMER CHICKEN RANGE
CategoryA03. Best Product Launch/Re-launch
EntrantDDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Entrant Company:DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Sales Promotion/Advertising Agency:DDB GROUP NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND

Credits

Name Company Position
Toby Talbot DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Group Executive Creative Director
Aaron Goldring DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Digital Creative Director
Jonathan McMahon DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Copy Writer
Lisa Fedyszyn DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Art Director
Paul Kim DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Copy Writer
Steve Hansen DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Art Director
Ben Barnes DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Digital Art Director/Copy Writer
Judy Thompson DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Head of Television
Pip Mayne DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Agency Producer
Zoe Alden DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Group Business Director
Susie Darling DDB Group New Zealand/RAPP Tribal Business Director
Madeleine Fitzpatrick McDonald's VP Director of Marketing
Nicki Lambert McDonald's National Marketing Manager
Mark Lever Sweetshop Director
Lynette Gordon Sweetshop Producer
Danny Pope Sweetshop DOP
Michael Lonsdale Sweetshop Editor
Peter Van Der Fluit Liquid Studios Sound Design/Composer
Viv Scanu Carnival Films Director/DOP Food Shoot
Michael Corridore Photographer

The Brief

For the 2010/2011 Summer, McDonald’s launched a new ‘limited time only’ chicken range. And through its advertising wanted to prove that their chicken was the tastiest going around. In fact, their chicken was so delicious it was branded, ‘Chicken so tasty it sells itself’. As their target market were males between the ages of 16-35, who spent their summer watching and playing cricket, they then signed on the world’s most infamous cricketer, Australian spin bowler, Shane Warne, to help promote it. But was a famous spokesman, really necessary to sell a product that ‘sells itself’? The answer… No.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

We had to make sure that the chicken was the main focus across all the media and stay true to the concept of ‘Chicken so tasty it sells itself’. Which can be kind of hard to do when you have a known celebrity trying to sell it. So we did our best to get rid of Shane from all our advertisements. We covered him with the food and prices, stuck him in the background, cropped him from shot, when he was in shot we had him out of focus, put him in the shadows, and even gave him menial tasks like rotating the burger’s plinth.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

McDonald’s finally forced its way into advertising at cricket grounds during the Ashes series, which had long been a KFC stronghold. We reached our target market and got them trying our chicken. And as a result, total chicken sales at McDonald’s increased by 80%. Chicken burger sales increased by 92%. McBites sales were 60% above their forecast. And 2 weeks after launch, McDonald’s New Zealand recorded their highest sales week EVER in the history of being open in this country. And to top it all off, not long after the campaign launched, Shane Warne was seen canoodling with English model/actress, Liz Hurley. Coincidence? Maybe.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Shane was used as he is a cricket legend and big personality in Australia and New Zealand. The target market were cricket lovers, who are constantly exposed to KFC advertising as KFC are sponsors of the Australian cricket team. As a way to break through we used the recently retired Warne as our face. Well sort of. We were there to promote our products, not Warne himself. So we used self-deprecating comedy, which all Australians and New Zealanders love and can relate to, as a way to grab their attention and shift their focus onto our new chicken products.