The Campaign

Making a big deal out of a first world problem. Our customers mainly complained about the soup space not being large enough, while others complained about their meat sliding down the dome-shaped pan. Rather than taking them as a negative, we took advantage of the case and cooked something up to build hype before the launch of the new pan.

Creative Execution

The film starts like a heartbreaking drama movie, drawing the audience into an intimate moment between mother and daughter. After a few over-the-top bursts of emotions and complaints from different people, we revealed our new stylish black pan and invite consumers to come try it for themselves. The film was launched on nationwide television, on Bar-B-Q Plaza’s Facebook page, as well as various online channels, the day the new pans were available in stores.

The film spread online faster than the petition itself, and inspired many consumer-generated parodies within 48 hours. The new Black Pan caught the attention of various news and blogs, gaining over 10 million baht worth of free media. Generated queues in front of Bar-B-Q Plaza restaurants, resulting to a record 130% sales increase within a day. Queues in length similar to consumers anticipating the iPhone 7, making Bar-B-Q Plaza’s black pan the most anticipated grilling pan in Thailand’s history.

Early 2016, one of Bar-B-Q Plaza’s fans started a petition on change.org requesting to change the pan because the soup space was too narrow to fit a spoon. Other consumers jumped onto the bandwagon, while others complained about their meat sliding down from the dome-shaped grilling area. Rather than taking this as a negative, we saw the opportunity to connect with our consumers. We demonstrated that we really wanted them to make the most of their meals by making a big deal about their complaints. They became the reason for our change and invited them to come try out our new black pan, including the fan who started the petition.