CiCi's pizza better than fast-food greasebag
After setting a commercial in a morgue and dropping pennies onto our nation's filthy streets for the hungry masses to collect, CiCi's Pizza turns things around with some decent new ads from Deutsch/LA. A wisecracking spokesbag tells it like it is in a hoarse, Borscht-belt-style delivery that works way better than it should. The bag has a real in-your-face attitude, and it rants so much about beef and pickles and cheese, I was hungry for an Angus 1/3-pounder by the end of the second spot. So, congrats, CiCi's, for the best McDonald's campaign I've seen all year. —Posted by David Gianatasio
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Published on September 17, 2009 | Permalink
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New CiCi's Pizza campaign is penny foolish
CiCi's Pizza is dropping a million pennies in streets near its restaurants nationwide as part of a promotion launched by ad shop Deutsch. Patrons who find the specially marked 1-cent pieces win free meals. The big negative, of course, is that you have to eat at CiCi's. I guess no one could afford, or was willing to pay, "five bucks and change," the price-point CiCi's extolled in its ads in November, so the chain drastically lowered the bar. Seriously, there's something a bit crass and mean-spirited about asking consumers to fish pennies out of the gutter for a few slices of pepperoni pie. What if a fight erupts over the tokens and someone winds up in the hospital, or worse? That's a PR debacle just waiting to happen. Worst of all is the imagery of schlubby looking patrons mounting pedestals to celebrate their penny-ante finds. Is that how CiCi's sees its customers? Maybe someone should take those pennies to the chain's corporate HQ and tactfully tell the marketing poobahs exactly where they can spend them. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on March 31, 2009 | Permalink
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CiCi's sprinkling death, disease on its pizzas
CiCi's Pizza touts its "Five bucks and change" value menu in new spots by Deutsch/LA. The ad above calls to mind a '90s-style alien autopsy video, which might not be the best strategy for a food place, as such procedures are commonly used to determine the cause of death. What killed the Martian, Scully? Was it ... CiCi's? Apparently not, because the being still has five bucks in change in its fanny pack. A second commercial takes place in a vet's office. No, the dog's not sick from eating at CiCi's. It swallowed a $5 bill, which the vet then suggests its owner use to buy pizza at the chain. How hygienic. Thankfully, the guy's not licensed to treat humans. A third spot takes place on a game-show set. Despite the unappetizing set-ups, these ads do underscore the fact that "change" is indeed sweeping through the land: If you can get a pizza for $5, the Democrats must be back in power. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on November 5, 2008 | Permalink
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