Arby's was in hot water recently, when the restaurant chain received a “Friendly reminder” from Pepsi that they had yet to release the second of their promised ads featuring the soft drink. The brand had already wrapped up its creative work for the year with its agency, the Publicis-owned Fallon, when the reminder came through in October, but they decided they could make the best of a bad situation.
Arby's recently received a “Friendly reminder” from Pepsi that they had yet to release the second of their promised featured ads
Rob Lynch, chief marketing officer and brand president of Arby's, said that the brand simply forgot to include Pepsi in its revamped campaign because they were focusing on the “We have the meats” tagline, which obviously leaves little room for a soft drink. Lynch was more than happy with the existing Fallon work, going so far as to say he was hesitant about asking them to make any changes because “To go in and shoehorn something in is the worst client move you could ever make.”
Fallon, however, were more than up to the challenge, and managed to poke fun at the chain's forgetful nature in a simple, playful 30-second ad featuring the velvet voiced actor Ving Rhames apologising for the mishap. Matt Heath, creative director and writer at Fallon, said “The idea was to stay consistent with the rest of the Arby's work; keep it simple, real and focused on the product, even if it's not exactly a sandwich.” He jokingly added “It's 24 seconds of a Pepsi just sitting there , it'd be hard to mess that one up. We're excited about it.” The ad can be seen in all of its (vaguely sarcastic) glory, below.
Arby's “We Have Pepsi”
Roberto Rios, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo's food service division, said that far from being offended, they applauded, “Arby’s unconventional approach to marketing,” and said when they came up with the idea, both parties agreed it would be a “Fun, creative way” to highlight their partnership.
This isn't the first time Arby's has run an unconventional campaign, with recent publicity stunts such as the 13-hour ad of a brisket being smoked and a viral tweet about Pharrell William's hat becoming benchmarks for brands looking to serve their advertising with a little tongue-in-cheek. As Lynch says; “It's all about being authentic and unapologetic.”
The spot will run in the Minneapolis, New York and LA markets
The spot will run in the Minneapolis, New York and LA markets between the 7th and 13th of December, fulfilling Arby's obligation with the beverage giant. The creative Fallon had to hold off in order to pay their dues will likely run before the year is out.
