Fast Food Ads That Work: Best Examples and What They Get Right
Fast food is simple. But advertising it isn’t! You come across fast food ads everywhere. That flyer tucked into your morning paper, the billboard you pass on the way to work, the display ad that pops up on your screen on a website you are browsing. But not all of them make you hungry. Today we’re talking about the ones that do!
But yeah, it’s not always about making you hungry. Fast food ads are about selling a variety of emotions too:
- The joy of digging into a large bucket of fried chicken while watching a movie marathon with roommates.
- The spontaneous decision to grab tacos on a Friday night because no one wants to cook.
- The feeling of relief when the pizza arrives just as the first guests show up for a last-minute party.
So, yeah, there’s convenience in fast food, but there’s comfort too. Real emotions that real people relate to. Some ads build on these emotions.
What is your approach? Still confused? Don’t worry, there are plenty of lessons to learn from the big brands and their brilliant campaigns. We’re delving into fast food ads today. The best ones, the creative ones, the ones that make you hungry. Ready for some fast food advertising inspiration? Let’s go!
6 Fast Food Ads + What Makes Them Crave-Worthy
1. Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?”
Let’s start our list with one of the most iconic fast food ads – Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?”.
The ad broke traditional tropes in fast food advertising and won hearts and became an icon with just one catchy and funny catchphrase – “Where’s the beef?”.
What truly makes this ad special is its simplicity and the subtle humor that you cannot miss. The idea was to establish that Wendy’s burgers were better and with more beef than others. No glossy shots, no fancy shooting locations or unrealistic imagery – plain, straightforward humor and a punchline that’s hard to forget.
So, what can you take away from this ad when creating your own fast food ads? Keep it simple and leverage universally relevant emotions like humor. But yes, tread carefully – you do not want to touch sensitive topics or complicate the humor theme that no one gets. Simplicity and a clear presentation go a long way in making a fast food ad memorable.
2. Pizza Hut’s “12th Player Club”
Good fast food ads look good, but the best ones are creative and are positioned at the right time and in the right context. Pizza Hut’s 12th Player Club campaign is one such. The campaign demonstrates the power of designing strong pizza logos and brand identity for instant recognition.
The 12th Player Club was no ordinary fast food ad but a unique campaign that introduced the foosball pizza box for football fans.
While the idea on its own is fresh and attention-grabbing, it’s the reason behind the campaign that makes it extra special. Pizza Hut introduced the foosball pizza box with a fully playable foosball table on the lid of the box.
It was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic in the football season. Football season means fans crowding stadiums, cheering their favorite teams, which was not possible during the pandemic. So, to cheer up the fans stuck at home, Pizza Hut came up with this creative campaign and it was lauded for its uniqueness.
But again, there’s one other little detail that does the trick – this campaign effortlessly relates pizza to football, ensuring that fans think of pizza the next time they sit to catch their favorite game.
This campaign also demonstrates the magic that happens when brands turn mundane brand elements like packaging into shareable, immersive experiences. That’s how you set your brand apart.
3. McDonald’s “You’ll Know Them When You See Them”
Visuals have a strong role to play in the success of fast food ads. A different perspective, a fresh twist to traditional framing – can all make a big difference. McDonald’s “You’ll Know Them When You See Them” campaign proves this.
Radically shifting from the traditional food photography rules and framing food in appetizing angles with a hint of drama, this campaign tackled things differently. It stood out with the close-up shots of burgers and fries in a sort of abstract design that invites the viewers to stop and take a second look.
Notably, the campaign was deployed as an OOH campaign. Advertising outdoors can be a challenge these days when people seem to be too busy to notice what’s around them. They are either in a hurry or glued to their phones. So, you need something unique, and that’s exactly what McDonald’s went for.
The design stripped away almost all branding, context, and copy, leaving only highly cropped, stylized images of popular items on the menu. The idea was to challenge the audience to mentally complete the picture by observing the colors, textures, and shapes in the image. In other words, the design was created so as to actively engage the viewers.
4. Subway’s “Build Your Dream Sub On-Screen”
The best kind of fast food ads are not passive but interactive. They do not just scream at the audience or broadcast a generic message, but evoke their curiosity and encourage them to dig deeper. Subway’s campaign in the UK, titled “Build Your Dream Sub On-Screen”, is one such campaign that breaks the mold and works on interactivity.
For this campaign, Subway created a massive 3D billboard blending the perks of outdoor advertising and the advancements in OOH advertising technology. It was not just about delectable 3D videos of subs but about driving engagement.
The highlight was that passers-by could scan the QR code in the ad to launch a web application that allowed them to build their own sub. The whole process came alive on the big screen, allowing others to see the custom subs come to life.
Digital outdoor advertising, but with a small twist – this is the kind of creativity that fast food ads need in order to cut through the noise.
Interactive ads like these are show-stoppers when executed well. The result? People who encounter the ad and are impressed by the experience talk about it on social media. So, despite the campaign being executed in one channel and in a localized setting, it ends up creating a buzz across multiple channels. This builds the momentum of the campaign and ensures better conversions and boosts brand mentions.
5. Taco Bell’s “Breakfast Defector”
Taco Bell’s Breakfast Defector is a campaign that demonstrates the power of multi-channel marketing for fast food brands.
Unlike traditional fast food ads designed for a single format or channel like TV ad spots or social media campaigns, Taco Bell chose to go with a multi-channel approach for its Breakfast Defector campaign. To begin with, the idea was novel yet relatable.
The brand declared May 5th as National Breakfast Defectors Day in order to challenge traditional breakfast options. Accordingly, it introduced new items to its menu, like the Biscuit Taco. But that’s not all. In order to give the campaign a quick boost, Taco Bell gave away 1 free Biscuit Taco per customer visiting select outlets between 7 am and 11 am.
The real strength in the campaign is its clear goal. This campaign was launched in 2015 during a time when the fast food brand was actively working on expanding its presence in the breakfast market. The campaign fit seamlessly into this goal and was executed well.
This campaign highlights one solid strategy – having a clear and relatable message that connects with a niche audience, if not the entire audience segment. This way, you create something meaningful and not just promotional.
6. Burger King Belgium’s Halloween post
We spoke about the significance of timing and context in fast food ads. This is particularly true when creating ads for holidays. During the holidays, the number of ads from brands increases across industries. Hence, your ad needs to lean into the spirit of the holiday while also preserving the message.
To achieve this, understand what makes the particular holiday special. Any story behind it, its cultural significance, and the usual advertising formula brands adopt during the holiday.
Knowing this will help you understand what to do and what not to do with your ads.
For instance, the post below from Burger King Belgium was shared just around Halloween. One product category to promote (vegetarian burgers), a single niche audience segment (vegetarians), and a clear Halloween together make this a catchy ad.
It builds on the theme that there are fewer options when it comes to burgers for vegetarians, and not all of them are as good as their meat-based counterparts. Hence, the brand promoted its vegetable burgers by also incorporating a Halloween theme.
According to Burger King, its vegetable burgers are “so real, it’s scary”.
With all those examples analyzed, time for some quick tips. Let’s talk about a few do’s and don’ts when ideating and designing fast food ads.
Fast Food Ads: Do’s and Don’ts
Do’s
- Show the food in its best angle, the best lighting, and the best perspectives. It is about incorporating sensory triggers into your design so that your ad makes people hungry.
- Define a single emotional moment and build on it. Remember those emotional cues we discussed earlier in this blog? Identify relatable, realistic moments like those. Moments when people actually crave fast food. Use visual storytelling to deliver your message while preserving the story and the emotions.
- Feature real people. Food photos are great. But people enjoying food is even better. This boosts the authenticity of your fast food ad and, therefore, makes it more impactful.
- Use illustrations for variety. Food photos are everywhere. So, how about incorporating illustrations into your ad? Illustrations that align with your brand’s unique visual theme? This helps differentiate your ad and also helps you explore unique themes and visual narratives.
- Lean into what differentiates your brand. What is your USP? What is that one unique trait that people like about your brand? This could be about the choice of locally sourced ingredients or the use of plant-based meat or super-fast delivery, or convenient customization. When you know what sets you apart, you know what story to communicate through your design. Focus on the best brand traits, and your ad becomes much more effective.
Don’ts
- Don’t overpromise through your fast food ads. Ever find yourself at a burger joint where the actual burger served looks nothing like what you see in their ads? Frustrating, isn’t it? Do not subject your customers to such frustration. Such deviations can be a big turn-off and can impact their trust in your brand.
- Never let the creative concept, mascot, or celebrity overwhelm the product itself. The food must always be the central focus of the ad.
- Don’t take cultural references lightly. Consider the audience you are targeting with your fast food ads and ensure that the emotional quotient in the ad and its message are all relevant to them.
- While comparative advertising works, do not rely on it too much. Too many ads putting down your competitors, too many ads telling what your competitors are lacking, do not exactly paint a positive picture of your brand. Instead, highlight what makes your brand special.
- Avoid overusing stock elements. Yes, you’ll find plenty of stock photos of the items on your menu, and using them saves you time and effort. However, using too many stock elements in your fast food ads, your restaurant menu, and social media posts can lead to your brand fading into the background. Real photos of real food you serve work much better.
Design Irresistible Fast Food Ads With KIMP
Fast food ads are not about placing photos of food within the frame. The best ads tap into culture, timing, humor, belonging, and those small emotional cues that make people crave something before they’ve even decided they’re hungry. But yes, as you can see from all the ads we discussed today, great ideas need great execution. And great execution needs – sharp copy, smart visuals, correct timing, and a design team that can move fast.
So, are you looking for a creative partner who collaborates with you to design fast food ads with personality, a clear message, and effective delivery? The KIMP team is just a subscription away!
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