The other day my ex-radio colleague and fellow blogger Jennifer Schurter brought the a recent Quiznos commercial to my attention. Quiznos has decided to use singing cats to promote their new value menu:
In this endeavor, Quiznos is emulating Mcdonald’s’ iconic singing fish campaign. Like McDonald’s, they’re using a deliberately-obnoxious singing “animal” to cut through the clutter and grab the viewer’s attention. And they’re making an offer, which is a good thing.
Problem is, it makes THREE offers, and the offers (in spite of the attempt to tie them together with “5-4-3”) don’t have anything to do with each other. Too much detail equals confusion, and that’s the state the viewer will be in when the ad’s over.
By comparison, the McDonald’s ad makes one very simple offer: buy two filet-o-fish sandwiches for $3.00.
And unlike Quiznos’ wimpy “for a limited time”, McDonald’s gave consumers a hard deadline — in this version, you had to buy your sandwich no later than April 4. Viewers of the filet-o-fish commercial will have no doubt what McDonald’s wants them to do, why they should do it, and how long they have to get it done.
In this particular battle, the fish beats the cat.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
Got a question? Wanna argue? Email Phil Bernstein here.
Sign up for Phil Bernstein’s free advertising and marketing e-newsletter here.
Become a Phil Bernstein Portland’s Advertising Expert Facebook Fan here
I agree. Too much info, all jumbled up. Gimme back that filet-o-fish!
The rapping fish. Looks a lot like Billy the Bass, that love-to-hate-it plastic singing fish. Coincidence?
Oh yeah–thanks for the link, Phil!