Information released by Statistics New Zealand recently revealed that the extent of the nation’s multiculturalism. And given that we could very well be in the proximity of one of the 4,593 people who identify as French in the nation, it pays to ensure we’re pronouncing words borrowed from their language correctly. So, with the launch of its latest French-inspired burger, Wendy’s has assembled a troop (or is it troupe?) of Vodafone Warriors players to discuss exactly how the word ‘brioche’ is pronounced.
The TVC was created by Auckland agency &Some and filmed by OnDigital*, using Vodafone Warriors players Manu Vatuvei, Jacob Lillyman, Konrad Hurrell and Dane Nielsen, to advertise the Portabella Mushroom on Brioche burger, which launched this week. The burger has a French-style brioche bun by local artisan breadmakers Pandoro.
“Utilising the Vodafone Warriors family as our spokespeople allowed us to have to some fun with the different ways to say the word ‘brioche’,” says Wendy’s New Zealand senior brand manager Joanne Hall. “It also allowed us to communicate that while the Portabella Mushroom on Brioche might be a fancy sounding burger, it’s still very attainable and appealing to everyone – regardless of how you say it.”
The campaign is a local knockoff (and one that uses Wendy’s six-year sponsor partnership with the Warriors) of the original version from the US, a campaign that played on the public’s rage against mispronunciation well enough to win a Shorty award.
According to an article in the Guardian, 80 percent of people in Britain pronounce some words wrong. And you could only think it would be worse in New Zealand:
But it will be interesting for Wendy’s service counter employees in New Zealand to commission their own survey on how customers order the burger.
The last bread innovation Wendy’s came up with was the pretzel bun, which was massive in the US. It was said by U.S. industry source Burger Business to be the “most talked about burger bun” and “most important burger” of 2013, and by QSR Magazine as 2013’s “it” ingredient.
Like the brioche burger, the pretzel burger was available only for a limited time. Businessweek described it as “the revolving door of artisanal breads at Wendy’s”.
“It appears to be part of a strategy to brand the chain as a higher-end quick-service option via limited-time offers. These fleeting items can help boost traffic to restaurants, and in this case, it seems Wendy’s is looking to pique the curiosity of diners willing pay for a premium fast-food burger,” says Businessweek.
The article also said Wendy’s may be taking a play out of McDonald’s playbook on the McRib sandwich: have consumers clamour for the product and bring it back periodically to drive sales.
*Like StopPress, &Some and OnDigital form part of the Image Centre Group.
