Bone Thugs-N-Harmony goes ‘Boneless’ to promote Buffalo Wild Wings

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony is calling itself Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony in a campaign from Buffalo Wild Wings that shows the chicken wing chain trying to drum up interest in its boneless wings by using nostalgia and social media. Buffalo Wild Wings got the members of the rap group to star in a “Behind the Music”-style video, complete with a narrator’s voiceover telling the tale, a mock disagreement among the members of the group and bleeped words. The nearly two-minute spot has minimal branding for the wings chain. It's the latest effort by a brand to associate itself with a bit of a retro theme to draw the attention of those who are familiar with something from the 1990s, as well as younger consumers who are interested in throwback culture. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, which is still touring, is known for hits such as "Tha Crossroads," which won a Grammy Award in 1997 and was recently mentioned on the NBC show "The Good Place." In the video, it appears that three members of the group—Flesh-n-Bone, Krayzie Bone and Wish Bone—want to change the group’s name and changed their individual stage names to include “Boneless” rather than “Bone.” Layzie Bone, however, calls the change preposterous. The other members of the group get him to try the boneless chicken pieces, which he declares “are actually pretty good,” adding “they ain’t change-your-name good.” The push includes having the group promote the changing of the name through their own social channels. No word yet on how they’ll be announced during their upcoming tour dates. But there are plans to give away Boneless Thugs-N-Harmony merchandise on a BonelessThugs.com site, though customers have to pay for shipping. The Martin Agency worked on the project. The online-focused effort is rolling out after Buffalo Wild Wings criticized cheating by the Houston Astros, then apologized for its comments. B-Dubs noted how another team caught cheating, the Manchester City Football Club, was banned from Champions League play for two years and fined 30 million euros. “THAT’S how you punish a team that cheats,” it tweeted. Buffalo Wild Wings handles its own social and community management. THAT’S how you punish a team that cheats. https://t.co/A0HJYUjc0q— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) February 14, 2020 After Astros fans spoke up, Buffalo Wild Wings apologized. So last night was the roast of Buffalo Wild Wings, courtesy of the city of Houston. And honestly, we deserved it. Well done H-Town for coming to your team’s defense, and we're sorry about what we posted.— Buffalo Wild Wings (@BWWings) February 15, 2020

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony goes ‘Boneless’ to promote Buffalo Wild Wings

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