Being from the New York metropolitan area, I’m a big New York Giants fan, so I enthusiastically watched this Sunday’s broadcast of the Giants/Buccaneers game. I say enthusiastically mainly because the Giants won, but also because I saw yet another one of those annoying Burger King commercials that reminded me to blog about it this week.
Denying customers your core product, or misleading them by providing them with the competition’s, and then airing their irritated reactions on national television doesn’t prove your customer’s value, it proves you’re a CRM idiot. I’m as much a fan of fast food’s fatty goodness as any other American, but as somebody who has been part of the CRM industry for the last 4+ years, this advertising campaign speaks to a horrific misunderstanding among Burger King executives about proving to America how revered their hamburger is. I mean honestly; which marketing/advertising executive thought this one up? Of course consumers are going to be annoyed…cognitive dissonance will do that to somebody. And then airing it on national television as part of an advertising campaign doesn’t prove the loyalty of your customers, it proves the importance of providing solid service, which for the fast food industry is speed and efficiency at a moderate price. Half those people in the video probably stopped at a McDonalds at the previous rest stop. Even my father, who at the ripe old age of 67 doesn’t “get” many of the commercials on TV anymore, found it dim-witted and obtuse, and completely beside the point that Burger King was trying to make with this campaign in the first place.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m heading out to Wendy’s for lunch…
