Hip huggers, fondue sets and skyrocketing gas prices aren’t the only ’70s staples making a comeback in 2004. Burger King’s famed "Have It Your Way" jingle returns to the airwaves—albeit with a post-millennium attitude—in "Champion" and "Copy," two humorous new spots directed by Martin Granger of bicoastal Moxie Pictures via Crispin Porter+Bogusky (CP+B), Miami.
"[Burger King] had brought up the idea of [redoing] ‘Have It Your Way,’ and we thought it was brilliant," says Andrew Keller, creative director at CP+B. The agency nabbed Burger King earlier this year, when after just six months, the client left Young & Rubicam (Y&R), New York. "We thought there were a lot of things we could do to extend the meaning of that slogan—make it more than just ‘hold the pickles, hold the lettuce.’ "
Though Keller says his agency "didn’t want to do a retro campaign," both CB+B and Burger King were interested in bringing back the brand identity—and loyalty—that the fast food chain seemed to be losing in recent years; Y&R had been the latest in a string of agencies tapped by Burger King in an attempt to quell declining sales. As a result of all the switching around, there was "a kind of schizophrenia to the brand" when it got to CP+B, states Keller.
For Keller and the CP+B team, "Have It Your Way," was the perfect way to ground Burger King and give it the relevance it needed. In today’s individualized world, where consumers customize everything from computers to cars to double-decaf lattes, the creatives reasoned, the ’70s slogan could pack a stronger punch than ever.
The new spots feature a group of office workers during their lunch hour. In "Champion," one worker is so proud of his "no lettuce, extra ketchup, double bacon, double mayo, two extra beef patty" Whopper that he declares himself "the champion," and does a victory lap around the break-room. "Copy" depicts a tense standoff between two officemates that occurs after one of them requests the exact same special order as the other. A third spot, "Wrapper," features a guy sniffing a co-worker’s discarded wrapper from a Burger King sandwich; she catches him, much to her disgust. The ads end with the tagline "Have It Your Way," accompanied by an updated, guitar-heavy version of the familiar jingle.
As Keller points out, "an office is a fairly common device in advertising, in terms of getting the group together and playing out a kind of situational comedy." Still, the spots feel cutting edge, mainly because of their similarity to the popular BBC show, The Office. A coincidence, says Keller: "I don’t even think the writers [Rob Strasberg and Tom Adams] knew anything about The Office when [they were working on these ads]. They definitely were not inspired by [the show].
" ‘Have It Your Way,’ for us, was all about self-expression," Keller continues. "To set the spots in an office setting where self-expression is at a complete minimum, and lunch becomes maybe the greatest moment in time—it seemed like an ideal way to go. Then, as we were moving forward with it, The Office won hundreds of thousands of Golden Globes, and people thought it was a reference point."
Since the office setting had "been out there so long," Keller observes, "the challenge was to use that medium, and still make it funny and interesting."
Speed Shoot
CP+B signed with Burger King on Feb. 1, and the spots were slated to air on Feb. 18, so there wasn’t much time to conceptualize. Since the agency planned to use the same actors in both ads, and possibly in future installments, finding a good ensemble cast was "maybe the most critical thing," Keller says. "We actually began casting in New York before we had a director. Then when Martin came along, he said, ‘There are some great people in Chicago,’ so we started casting there. Then we did major casting in L.A. It was by far the largest casting call we’ve ever done."
Though his agency had never worked with Granger before, Keller says that hiring the director was "kind of a no-brainer," which was particularly fortunate, considering the tight schedule. Impressed as he was by Granger’s reel, Keller became convinced that Granger was the one after speaking with him on the phone. "He was just a genuinely funny guy," notes Keller. "He understood comedy, and that was great."
During the extensive callback sessions, Granger spent a lot of time with the actors, "working with the group, and pairing the guys up," Keller remembers. "So when we all got together on set, everybody was excited to be a part of it, and had familiarized themselves with the content. It made for a really great on-set experience, which, I think, translated onto the film."
Whether or not the ensemble returns, Keller plans to work again with Granger, whom he says is "unbelievable with talent. He also has an ability to deliver great advertising." In the meantime, Keller and his creative team plan to create newspaper ads and inserts in the same vein.
Keller reports that the client is pleased with "Champion" and "Copy"—which have also worked their magic on the creative director himself. "It’s funny because when we’re on a project, we’ll know it’s working when we actually start desiring the product," he says. "Since we started working on this, I’ve really wanted to go into Burger King and tell them exactly how to make my Whopper. Finally, I did it. I ordered this Whopper exactly how I wanted it. It sounds so ridiculous, but it was an awesome experience. You’re sort of proud of it, in a weird way."
For those who are interested, Keller asked for his Whopper with no onions, heavy on the mayo, and cut in half—the same way CP+B president Jeff Hicks orders his. "I copied his Whopper, basically," Keller admits.
