The Top 10 Restaurant Commercials

Most of this year's best-recalled restaurant commercials use humor to set the stage for business-building messages.

By Staff -- Restaurants & Institutions, 11/26/2007

Consumers like a good laugh. But these days they love saving money even more.

Dan Dahlen, executive vice president for restaurants at New York City-based media researcher IAG Research, says most of the 10 best-recalled restaurant commercials so far this year (from Jan. 1 to Nov. 13, 2007) use humorous situations to set the stage for business-building messages. “A commercial doesn’t have to be fall-down funny,” says Dahlen, who has worked in the marketing departments at Shoney’s and Wendy’s as well as at several major advertising agencies. “But a little wink or gentle humor goes a long way in aiding recall and likeability.”

With financial conditions tight for most households, however, humor alone isn’t enough for a commercial to get noticed or to motivate viewers to become restaurant customers. “If a commercial doesn’t have a clear idea that’s relevant, timely and appropriate, it’s hard to compete in this [media] environment, because it’s so cluttered,” Dahlen says. Value menus and new food items are ideas that can boost both consumer recall and restaurant sales.

“Retailers all have value messages interwoven into their commercials. That’s the idea they want to get across,” Dahlen says. “You have to go out there with a purpose.”

A sizzling steak will capture more attention than a sweater, and restaurant chains should maximize that advantage with appealing food photography. By and large, restaurant chains do that well, Dahlen says. “Beautiful food photography can make a big difference [in appeal and recall] even if it’s only a few seconds of the commercial.”

IAG Research tracks all prime-time commercials daily on all broadcast and major cable networks. It measures recall as the percentage of viewers who can recall the commercial and the advertiser within 24 hours of viewing a television program. IAG creates a Recall Index where 100 is the average recall score for all restaurant commercials.

These commercials have the highest Recall Index scores:

1. Subway, Club: Jared and Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard compare the amount of fat in the Subway Club and McDonald’s Big Mac. (Recall Index of 219, meaning it was 119% more memorable than the average restaurant commercial)

2 (tie). Subway, Turkey Breast & Ham: Jared and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush introduce a new sandwich. (Recall Index of 210)

2 (tie). Sonic, Cranberry Iced Tea: A couple in a car decide that Sonic’s new beverage is “crantastic.” (Recall Index of 210)

4. Burger King, Ultimate Double Whopper: Homer Simpson enjoys the giant burger. (Recall Index of 205)

5. Red Lobster, Endless Shrimp: The chain’s annual all-you-care-to-eat shrimp celebration. (Recall Index of 202)

6. Subway, Club: Jared again, this time with Nascar driver Tony Stewart. (Recall Index of 201)

7. Wendy’s, “That’s Right”: A man in a red-braid wig refuses to follow a crowd jumping in a giant hole; he demands a burger that sizzles. (Recall Index of 198)

8. Burger King, Spicy Chick’n Crisp: Whopper Dad returns home to find kids partying with the $1 Spicy Chick’n Crisp sandwich. (Recall Index of 192)

9. Taco Bell, 7-Layer Crunchwrap: Skydiving instructor jumps with the easy-to-eat menu item. (Recall Index 0f 183)

10. Subway, Fresh Fit Meals: A woman asks for the “Can my butt look any bigger” meal from Burger Town. (Recall Index of 182)