The Really Brief — Week of September 14

by Chris Powell

September 17

Little Caesars‘ 5 Meat Feast pizza has a lot of meat on it. Five kinds, to be exact (it’s right there in the name): two kinds of bacon, pepperoni, sausage and ham. Creative agency No Fixed Address decided to simplify (?) that mouthful of meat to Bacausageronihamacon. A TV ad launched the marketing campaign last month, and a second phase of the campaign began Monday.

Rather than a traditional sampling program (because COVID), NFA is inviting people to call a hotline to get a free 5 Meat Feast pizza delivered to their door. The trick: you have to dial 1-844-LC5-MEAT-BACAUSAGERONIHAMACON. Social ads and guerrilla street posters with really long tear-aways are being used to advertise the promotion.

September 15

Budweiser Canada has launched its new alcohol-free beer brand Zero, which replaces the brewer’s previous non-alcoholic beer Budweiser Prohibition. According to the brewer, millennials in particular have demonstrated strong interest in lower alcohol options with people 19 to 34 accounting for 64% of the consumption of low and no alcohol beer in Canada.

“As a global leader in alcoholic beverages, we have an essential role to play in reminding Canadians of the importance of moderation and positive mental and physical health choices,” said Budweiser Canada marketing director Mike D’Agostini. “In these challenging and stressful times, we’re urging Canadians to ‘Drink Wiser’ and make smart decisions for their overall wellness, and we’re encouraged that the millennial cohort is already taking a stand.”

Budweiser is supporting the product launch with digital advertising targeting existing non-alcoholic beer drinkers, and reaching out to potential drinkers through partnership with Live Nation and key restaurant partners.

September 14

We’ve always thought that Taco Bell‘s food is best washed down with cheap tequila, but the chain is toasting the return of its limited-time menu item the Toasted Cheesy Chalupa by partnering with the Niagara-area winery Queenston Mile Vineyard on a limited-edition wine called Jalapeño Noir.

Beginning Sept. 16, the limited-edition wine is being sold for $25 at TacoBell.ca or from select Hamilton and Toronto locations via Uber Eats. According to the tasting notes, the wine features notes of wild strawberry, cherry and beetroot.

“Wine and cheese are simply meant to be together, so launching a new wine to go with the craveable, cheddary Toasted Cheesy Chalupa made perfect sense,” said Kat Garcia, Taco Bell’s director of brand marketing. “At Taco Bell Canada, we love to raise our glass to big, bold ideas that elevate our menu items, and pairing our Toasted Cheesy Chalupa with this Jalapeño Noir is no exception.”

Aside from its just launched ad campaign, Budweiser Canada has introduced “4-Down Territory,”  a content series created in collaboration with NFL Films (Los Angeles), NFL Canada and Budweiser.

A Labatt Breweries spokesperson says the parody podcast is “hosted by Doug Drabel, a fictional take on the one guy in the friend group who has all the hot takes on the game and demonstrates his impressive ability to help his teams win with his wild superstitions.”

The first season will run for approximately five episodes.

With Popeye’s bringing its “famous” chicken sandwich to Canada, KFC has responded with a new sandwich and ad campaign claiming that it’s the one with the famous chicken.

“This campaign is highly integrated and built to drive maximum awareness, intrigue and excitement for our new Famous Chicken Chicken Sandwich,” said KFC spokesperson Sam Redman. “During the pre-launch phase we issued an Open Letter in the Globe & Mail which was supported in other formats like out of home, CRM, social, earned and OLV.

“Then, to launch on Sept. 7, we went truly national with our approach with a 15-second TV spot, 6-second OLV, paid and organic social, earned OOH, digital and programmatic, search and CRM.”

Toronto’s Swerve Public Relations is marking its 10th anniversary with the addition of two new clients: specialty toy retailer Mastermind Toys, for which it will provide Canadian PR services, and non-toxic play dough company (and successful Dragon’s Den pitch) Dough Parlour, for which it will provide North American PR and influencer marketing.

The company has also released a video marking the anniversary. “We are so excited about the opportunities that lie ahead and we’re looking forward to working with these incredible brands.” said Swerve president and CEO Andrew Wagar in a release.

Chris Powell