Bojangles cooks up baggage-carousel oven

Is a new ploy for Bojangles restaurants a) clever or b) too clever by half? Its agency, Eric Mower and Associates, hit upon the idea of turning a baggage carousel at the airport in Charlotte, N.C. (where Bojangles is headquartered and the agency has an office), into a moving, 3-D ad for the restaurant chain. Thanks to some artfully placed artwork, fresh biscuits seem to be streaming out of a large oven. The idea is that this will whet the appetites of hungry travelers for Bojangles' "Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits." As well it might. The downside is that the biscuit decals will be most visible when there isn't luggage on top of them—i.e., when the people tend to be feeling impatient, if not downright irritable, as they wait for their baggage to emerge. And of course, they'll be obscured when the suitcases and whatnot start coming out, at which point people's mood is apt to improve. Ingenious though the effort may be, are these the kinds of psychological connections a brand would want to make?

—Posted by Mark Dolliver

Published on May 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (3)
Filed under Bojangles, Dolliver, Eric Mower, Food and drink, Restaurants

Presidential politics now a game of chicken

Here’s a clay-animated, election-themed commercial for Bojangles Chicken from Eric Mower and Associates. An alien abduction is thrown in for no good reason. I was expecting dancing drumsticks, flapping wings or a conga line of animated poultry. My expectations, in what could be construed as a metaphor for American politics in general, were not met. Hey, Bojangles: Where’s the bird? An animated Hillary doesn’t count. At least we finally know where the current administration gets its policy ideas: Mars. Jimmy Carter could still be elected to serve another term. Not on this planet, of course, but possibly on Venus, which Carter apparently mistook for a flying saucer back in ’69.

—Posted by David Gianatasio

Published on November 19, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (5)
Filed under Bojangles, Eric Mower

'Little Nicky': movie or chicken-fomercial?

I caught a late night showing of Little Nicky over New Year's and realized, as I've done with most of Adam Sandler's early efforts, that it wasn't really a movie. But unlike stuff like Billy Madison, the general execution wasn't an issue. Rather, Little Nicky isn't a movie because it's a two-hour commercial for Popeye's Chicken. That doesn't sit right with me, and not just because Popeye's Chicken gives me toxic indigestion. It just doesn't scream “evil” the way something associated with Hell should. It screams “our company managed to outbid Bojangles and Waffle House for product placement,” but that's not quite the same thing (although in the latter case, it's damn close). Perhaps Sandler should have checked with this guy before setting the menu for his hackneyed foray into the netherworld. Or, you know, just skipped the whole thing altogether.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on January 4, 2007 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Filed under Bojangles, Kiefaber

Can Bojangles help you parallel park?

Let no one say Bojangles shirks its civic duties. Its newest radio spot offers driving tips (use turn signals, don’t linger in the passing lane, etc.) and urges listeners not to speed—because, after all, Bojangles serves breakfast all day. Not only is their food pretty damn good, but I’m pleased by the turn their marketing has taken. After so many ads exploiting or encouraging careless behavior (anyone remember Twix’s “Two for me, none for you”?), it’s nice to hear one that’s both responsible and clever. And it’s better than “Show Me the Chicken,” which you can hear over at the Bojangles Web site.

—Posted by David Kiefaber

Published on July 25, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (1)
Filed under Bojangles, Kiefaber