Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen launches series of “Vote Handcrafted” YouTube debate videos

With the 2012 election season heating up, Popeyes^® Louisiana Kitchen and its digital AOR Campbell Mithun have launched a series of “Vote Handcrafted” videos in a campaign to end freezer-to-fryer chicken mediocrity. The video series depicts “Handcrafted Debates” -- between candidate Handcrafted Tender and his freezer-to-fryer chicken-strip opponent -- about topics which so far have included an introductory “attack ad,” “The Economy,” “Global Warming” and, just released, “Meet the Running Mates” (which introduces us to six bold signature dipping sauces).

 

A “Get out the Vote” Facebook app encourages sharing/liking of the videos and offers chicken lovers opportunities to win one of hundreds of weekly prizes, such as free chicken coupons or free T-shirts, or even a grand prize trip to New Orleans. Popeyes is tapping the election rhetoric to challenge consumers to “Vote with your mouth!” to prove that Handcrafted Tenders taste better than the pressed, molded, freezer-to-fryer alternatives.

 

“Many chicken tenders are formed and pressed in a factory and then thrown straight from the freezer into the fryer at the restaurant. At Popeyes, we refuse to take these kinds of shortcuts,” said Hector Munoz, vice president of Marketing at Popeyes. “These Handcrafted Debates celebrate, in a humorous and memorable way, the time and attention we put into preparing our tenders, that’s central to our Louisiana-style home cooking.”

 

“This election season offers perfect timing to get vocal in support of Popeyes Handcrafted Chicken Tenders,” said Heath Rudduck, chief creative officer at Campbell Mithun. “They're the real-deal and the greatest chicken-tender candidate in the known universe.”

A new Handcrafted Debate video will debut at regular intervals through November 2012, creating a series of approximately ten spots. Forthcoming topics facing Handcrafted Tender and his opponent include: “Experience,” “Being Handcrafted” and “Closing Arguments,” among others.

Gaining Digital Traction

 

Additional digital work developed for Popeyes by Campbell Mithun includes the “Mood Wing” and “Rip’n Chick’n” programs to support Popeyes’ May and June limited time offerings, as well as a redesign of www.Popeyes.com to enhance navigation and organization, increase messaging capacity, identify Popeyes’ strong social media presence, and integrate content from sites serving investors and employees.

 

Digital efforts are paying off for the brand, whose customers are very active in the social media space:  the Mood Wing app increased Popeyes’ Social Engagement Score by 48 percent and contributed to a 71 percent increase in traffic to Popeyes.com from social sites; the Rip’n Chick’n bookmarklet was downloaded by nearly 10,000 users, produced more than 100,000 page views and contributed to Popeyes’ second highest month ever for website traffic.