T & O; Group Touts Big Bear; Kudos for Y & R; Lincoln Site
The scene: A family huddles around the dining room table and digs into some chicken, salsa, tortillas and rice as festive Latin music plays.
An announcer follows with: “Go crazy for the famous flame-broiled flavor of El Pollo Loco.”
The 30-second television spot is Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Inc.’s first commercial for 2001. It kicks off the fast food chain’s new “Pass the Pollo” campaign, created by West Hollywood-based Daily & Associates, El Pollo Loco’s agency of record since 1998.
The new campaign,focusing on intimate settings and ways people enjoy El Pollo food,deviates from last year’s push: crazy ways crowds show their passion for El Pollo Loco.
The chain made the switch after focus groups and customers said their favorite thing about the restaurant was their ability to customize the food, said Julie Weeks, spokeswoman for El Pollo Loco, which has a $13 million marketing budget.
The campaign, which is the second generation of the “When You’re Crazy For Chicken” theme, includes 60-second radio spots and a 15-second TV spot, which are set to air periodically throughout the year in select markets, including Southern and Northern California, Phoenix and Las Vegas. A second commercial is set to break in March.
El Pollo Loco, a unit of Advantica Restaurant Group Inc., saw sales hit $304 million last year, up from $275 million in 1999.
At the end of February, El Pollo Loco is expected to unveil a new Spanish language advertising campaign directed toward Hispanic customers, who are a significant percentage of its market. Hispanic agency cruz/kravetz: IDEAS in Los Angeles will handle the campaign, which is set to target radio and TV only.
High Attitude
Orange Zone, a division of Irvine-based T & O; Group focused on youth marketing, recently created three new radio spots loaded with attitude for client Big Bear Mountain Resort.
Targeting extreme,and extremely bad,snowboarders, the spots aim to lure people to the mountain, toting Big Bear’s new competition-sized Superpipe that boasts 17-foot walls and a 23-degree pitch that “isn’t for little boys.” Bear Mountain’s “Zone Learning” classes for beginners also are promoted.
This is Orange Zone’s third seasonal campaign for Big Bear Mountain. Billings weren’t disclosed. The campaign launched in January on radio Southland stations, including KROQ, KLOS, START 100.7 and San Diego’s 91X. Each spot ends with the same tagline: “Big Bear Mountain: Altitude not attitude.”
“We study these edge kids by spending time in the field and we know what language and attitude to use to reach them,” said Mark McVicker, director and creative leader at the Orange Zone.
The Orange Zone also recently launched a sticker campaign for Anaheim-based retailer Clothestime, a discount specialty chain for women. About 100,000 stickers with sayings like “be funky” and “be groovy” were distributed at concerts, ranging from Limp Bizkit to N’Sync. These stickers also served as coupons, giving customers $15 off purchases at Clothestime.
In the meantime, another T & O; Group client, MindArrow Systems Inc., Aliso Viejo, which delivers and tracks electronic messages, recently announced its intent to buy Twelve Horses Ltd., a privately held communications company in Ireland, which also offers electronic and print messaging solutions.
The acquisition,to be finalized in April,is expected to give MindArrow additional revenue channels and an open door into the European market, according to the company. Combining both technologies into a single platform will also yield greater services for clients, including personalized multi-media messages delivered via fax, mail or e-mail, according to the company.
Bits and pieces:
The Y & R; Companies in Irvine recently received kudos at the International Automotive Advertising Awards. The ad shop’s Impiric Interactive division was recognized for the Web site it designed for Lincoln Mercury, www.lincolnvehicles.com Newport Beach-based Cycle 23 Inc., a year-old software development and technology company, recently closed a seed round of funding for $400,000, which it plans to invest in technology for business and consumer electronic commerce. The company has yet to launch its first product The Orange County Ad Club recently drew about 120 people to a session where top OC ad executives led a slideshow and a round of lively chatter,fueled by a keg of beer,about this year’s Super Bowl ads. The event was held at Reimers and Hollar Photography studio in Santa Ana Swell.com, an action sports Web site in San Juan Capistrano, recently partnered up with the Skatepark of Tampa to provide live streaming video of some of the world’s best skaters on its sister Web site, Monsterskate.com. Swell.com also recently laid off 10 employees, taking its headcount from 94 to 84. Its publisher, however, insists business still is going strong.
