EndorsementRadio.com

This guy was telling me yesterday that Burger King has a regional endorsement radio campaign running.

My first thought was, as the kids say “WTFF???” “FF” standing for “french fries”. No, no, no. Endorsement radio is not for QSR (quick service restaurants). I remember a particularly bad endorsement campaign a few years ago for a hamburger chain that I heard on Jim Rome. What in the world could Burger King be thinking?

But as this guy continued, he started to talk about how good a Whopper can be. You know that moment. You’re starving. It’s an hour and a half past lunch and you pass a Burger King. You pull into that drive through and despite your diet and good intentions, those magic words come out of your mouth: “give me a Whopper, medium fries and a DIET Coke”. “With cheese?”. “Sure. With cheese”. Then that warm, 1 pound bag is handed to you and sits on your lap as you get your drink in the cup-holder and put your wallet away. You drive about 5 feet and you’re already tearing into the wrapper. In 10 feet you’re taking your first bite into hot, ketchupy, flame broiled red meat heaven. You’ve got about 12 more bites of heaven to go, fella.

By the end of my short discussion with this guy, I was ravishingly hungry for a Whopper. I got one that very night (actually two – they had a two for one special).

And then it occurred to me – wait a minute – if I’m hearing my favorite DJ or talk show host talking about the joy of a Whopper at about, ohhhhh, 11:45am – there’s a good chance that I’m going to walk the quarter mile for my quarter pounder – errr, Whopper.

So good on ya, Burger King. I’ll take the advice of my favorite host over a subservient chicken any day. It’s gonna beat that wacky expensively produced ad for the golden arches which is going to run 5 times in the following hour. I’ll bet anything.

…as long as they do it in the right way with the right messaging. As always – a good idea can fail with bad creative.

Hmmm, I’m getting kind of hungry.