Hello World!
Here’s an article that caught my eye; Chili’s Grill and Bar is opening a new location in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a destination 2,900 miles away from where I live and yet tempting me to go nonetheless. Why, you ask? Well, this Chili’s in particular is embracing nostalgia in a way that makes it remarkable. The new location dons its 2005 decor and design in homage to the hit comedy mockumentary “The Office” which was set in the city of Scranton itself!
https://www.marketingdive.com/news/chilis-the-office-new-scranton-pa-location/743989/
A little background (or: how the connection between a hit comedy series and a casual restaurant dining chain came to be): The crossover between Chili’s and “The Office” goes back to an episode of “The Office” called “The Client” (Season 2 Episode 7) in which two characters of the series visit a Chili’s restaurant to try and close a deal with a potential client. The episode contains important character developments that make the show iconic and was ultimately viewed by 7.5 million people! Talk about exposure! The episode contains many fan quotable moments, including the series lead Michael Scott (Steve Carrel) singing the now famous Baby Back Ribs jingle.
More than 10 years after the series finale and “The Office”s cultural relevance continues in the form of merchandising and memes, it was even the most streamed show in 2020(by far!) with American audiences accumulating 57 billion minutes watched! That’s a lot of people watching Michael Scott sing the Baby Back Ribs Jingle! Evidently; it’s as good a time as ever for Chili’s to tap into millennial nostalgia and open up a location which serves homage to “The Office”. The new restaurant will be decorated with mementos that celebrate the show, including bringing back a since discontinued food item that made an appearance in the show’s episode (the deep fried onion dish: “The Awesome Blossom”). The location’s opening is not without online ad support, including an ad on youtube (with a view count of 2.9 million views and counting!) featuring some of the show’s stars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vut_R7J7XE
Chili’s, which has made many successful attempts at modernizing its brand with social media content including Tik Tok and Instagram(its parent company boasting a 26.45% year-over-year revenue increase) has decided to leave aside one restaurant with a different value proposition; not one of current trends and internet fads, but one of nostalgia. Nostalgia could be a challenge, but if the latest media impressions and reactions to this new ad campaign are anything to go off, it appears to be an easy hurdle for Chili’s. This new location is not only different from its other locations, but from its competitors as well(no other restaurants can brag such a theme), giving it a competitive edge. I always believed nostalgia bait to be a risk, but I’ve learned with this ad campaign that it can be the obvious solution.
IMO: It seems to me Chili’s is doing so much right, they're casting a net to a very specific audience, one that appeals to millennial fans of the show. This should draw in audiences of the show as well as those who enjoy Chili’s already. The ad campaign appears to be working, but if I were brand manager, I would work out a deal to include Steve Carrel in the ad campaign. He’s a highly celebrated actor and no doubt expensive to work with, but I believe it’s worth the risk considering he is the face of the show itself! Steve Carrel singing the Baby Back Ribs jingle is content gold, a risk that is definitely worth the reward. I think Chili’s is making a mistake by not sparing the budget needed to bring the face of Michael Scott into their ad campaign.
That's all, folks!
