NNN: The Weenie War Has Begun

In working with the Newspaper National Network (NNN) 7–Eleven today placed poster-sized black and white ads on the back page of section fronts of national newspapers like USA Today to formally respond with what they are calling “The Hot Dog Bill Of Rights.” Here they remind everyone that since the 1970’s 7-Eleven has stood behind the idea that Americans should be able to enjoy freedom of choice when ordering a hot dog. The right to customize your frank with whatever toppings you prefer is an American right that they defend 24/7, 365 days a year. They also found a way to insert a combo price special into the manifesto -- which is in its own right pretty enticing!

Franchises were alerted to the promotion in advance of the advertising campaign and were instructed to take the ad out of the newspaper and hang it in their stores. With this, the ad takes on increased utility and a longer life as it goes viral in as retail a sense as is possible. It’s a fun, fresh, tongue-in-cheek initiative that supports a 7–Eleven mainstay product and establishes a competitive edge at a critical moment.

Could this have been as impactful if it were simply a television or radio spot? No. If it were a social posting would it travel as far and wide? Maybe. Can it still live on through those other platforms? Of course. What’s important about how 7–Eleven chose to execute this effort is that it began with newspaper. Here, in this trusted timely environment, the company was provided a large pulpit and arguably the loudest sound system with which to make a statement to its community.

On the executional side it was easy. The ad is a simple black and white piece of creative with a photo of a hot dog on top of copy. As USA Today is sold in their stores the distribution to 7-Eleven locations was already covered.  Mobilizing store managers? A simple email.

And in the end, that’s the beauty of this program -- its simplicity. There weren’t a number of complicated moving parts to manage and the program took only a few days to execute. This simply proves that when you have something important to say -- in the moment -- newspaper provides an environment and ease of use that gets people to engage with your messaging quickly. Even when that messaging is as playful as this.

Image at top courtesy of Corbis. The opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage/MyersBizNet management or associated bloggers.