On this episode of Tier Facqts, we’re ranking fast food ads from the top 9 fast food restaurants in the country. Which one do you think is the best? Watch the video right here!
Hey, what is going on? My name is Gabe, and we’re about to rank these nine different video ads from fast food companies.
So the way that we’re going to be rating these fast food ads is based off of the platform that they were delivered in, which is social media with social media best practices. We’re going to have a prism of acquisition rather than brand. While some of these may be specifically made towards branding, we’re going to be rating them on the ability to get the audience not only aware of the video, but to click through and then purchase a product.
Fast Food Ads: Tier List
The tippity-toppity is Thinking Outside The Bun. The second tier, which is just right below is going to be Extra Fries In The Bag. Everybody loves a little extra fries when they pick them up. So that signifies that it is a little bit of a bonus and it is a positive feeling from the ad.
The third tier is, well, at least it’s Better Than A Microwave Dinner. And then the fourth, this just Tastes Like Plastic. There’s nothing to it, it’s bland. It’s not going to get a performance. If this is the best performing ad that any of these companies are running, I would a hundred percent advise them to start producing new high variant videos if they want to get a top performing ad and then use the template of their competitors that we’ll be reviewing.
Burger King
Cool. So the first ad that we’re going to be looking at is Burger King. Yeah, that’s just boring. How long is this ad? What? It’s seven seconds. There’s no reason for this ad to be seven seconds. Give me three seconds and that’s fine. It’s just a guy who’s licking his lips. It’s a static image that they do little bit of motion to, but that motion does nothing.
It doesn’t give the audience a deeper conceptualization of the benefit. It’s a fake hustle. I’m sorry. It’s a way to make it look a little bit sexier, but in reality, the performance is going to be little to none. So this Tastes Like Plastic.
Dairy Queen
“Dairy Queen delivers,” (puts up the bag). “Swipe up to find delivery options near you.” Cool. So the Dairy Queen delivers. I like that that’s what they lead with because it’s the benefit of the ad — that they can be able to deliver directly to you. However, even if the graphics are nice aesthetically and it’s nice branding, it’s not the most captivating image you can be able to do.
Say, if you have somebody within real life doing these exact same motion images, then it’s going to be much more compelling of a video. But then it goes to product shots, which is fairly basic product shots. I’d really put them in between Extra Fries In The Bag and Better Than A Microwave, but I’m pretty sure that we’re going to be seeing some better ones. So even at the bell curve, we’re going to say that is Better Than A Microwave.
KFC
Going to KFC now. Yeah, I like that. Good product shots, super tasty. I used to work at KFC many, many, many, many moons ago. And that almost makes me want to go there again, which, the likelihood of me ever going back is little to none. But this is a great ad.
So great product visuals and it also does a good job storytelling where you see it being made. You see the crispy herb and you see the sandwich being made. You see it being put together and then very creatively someone’s putting it in the bag at KFC. Then it’s being given to the person at home and being delivered in a very cool transition. “Fried to order, served hot.”
The only thing that I do not like about this ad is we don’t really know it’s KFC until the very end. You can notice maybe a little bit of the branding. Extra Fries In The Bag, just because the benefit is not at the beginning and then we’re not aware of what the brand is.
So if they just put like a logo in the beginning and just said “fried to order,” that would be a Thinking Outside The Bun. But for this one, it is Extra Fries In The Bag.
Little Caesars
So let’s go to Little Caesars. Pizza, pizza, grabbing pizza. It’s not really telling me anything.
“33% more pepperoni.” There’s a quick graphic where it goes normal pizza, little circle, the pizza goes around and then has more pepperoni. But there was no captions there for me to be able to follow along. And then when they do have those captions when it says “33% more pizza,” that’s the very end of the video.
It’s Better Than Microwave. It gets the job done and it’s a little bit better than Burger King because it has better product shots, but not much better. It is on the borderline of three and four.
McDonald’s
So let’s get into Mickey D’s, McDonald’s. Someone’s grabbing a phone. Cool. So it’s a quick graphic where you see someone scrolling through their phone and it says “offers.” And then it’s branding “20% off entire purchase.”
This is actually an acquisition video as well. It’s upfront to what the benefit is. And then you are able to see their product shots within a six-second video. It’s simple, but this is something that’s going to be able to get the job done. The audience understands that very easily.
It’s also a video that can be used in a wide variety of placements for an audience who has a quick state of mind or an on-the-go state of mind, which is going to be 70% of the audience consuming just on Facebook and Instagram as a whole. If you include TikTok, I imagine the on-the-go is going to be even more. So, good stuff. Thinking Outside The Bun.
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut. So similar to Little Caesars a little bit with like pizza shots, but I like the product shots much better. And it also starts with the benefit right at the beginning. It’s doing everything right. I’m going to go Thinking Outside The Bun.
The only thing that does not do it and this is with all of these ads as well, because it is a branding play — they’re not talking about what’s really different, what makes their product stand out, what makes it unique. It’s more of just product shots. If we’re having it under that prism, then yeah, that is an easy Thinking Outside The Bun, but with the cheese and the crust because this is a stuffed crust ad.
Subway
Let’s get into Subway. Good product shots and I like how they call out “New USDA Roast Beef.” What’s the other one? “New Hearty Multigrain Bread.” But we’re not even aware of the brand until the very end and there’s no action item for us as well. So because of that we’re going to go Extra Fries In The Bag.
If it was more action oriented and it was letting us know the idea that was going on, or about a particular product, or that it was Subway in the beginning, then it could have got a bump up. But because the audience missed out on that vital information, with at least the first couple seconds which is the most impactful, we’re going with Extra Fries In The Bag.
Taco Bell
All right. Taco Bell. So somebody hands a girl a delivery meal, she puts it on her bed and then she and her boyfriend end up eating it. So I’m not aware that it’s Taco Bell till, all right, we’ll go second two or three. Delivery for two, I get it. It gets the story across. Actually, it is a better story than most as well.
So instead of doing product shots, they are telling a story. This is perfect for two people. It’s not the best product shots but it is a decent story that they’re able to tell.
In this one, I would put as the Most Fries In The Bag. This one also has a curly fry that you’re going to get in the bag. It’s not Thinking Outside The Bun. It’s not elite, but this is a good video. And they formatted it well for social media. I’ve seen it on TV too.
Wendy’s
I love this one. You know what, this one’s just so much better. Wendy’s is Thinking Outside The Bun and they are doing a great job of punching up as well.
The only thing that I don’t like about it is it’s longer than 15 seconds. However, if you have a great idea that needs a little extra time to breathe, it’s better to let it breathe and go up to 20 seconds because of the story you’re telling.
Basically what’s happening is they’re having two chefs who are taste testing fries. They’re both saying, I believe, that they prefer two to one in comparison to McDonald’s.
There’s audio captions below. From a sound-off world, you’re able to identify that. Great product shots as well of those fries. There’s also a good laugh at the end where they have a guy who’s imitating them to look like they’re triplets, to say who’s the person that voted for the McDonald’s fries. And they’re making fun of them. It’s a good laugh. So good branding.
Final Thoughts
Wendy’s definitely takes the cake in comparison to the rest of them. I would still put McDonald’s and Pizza Hut (in Extra Fries In The Bag). So they’re the ones that get the curly fries. But yeah, let me know what you think.
You can be able to watch the fast food ads right now. If you have any questions or comments, let us know them below and can’t wait to hear what you think as well.
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