Buffalo Wild Wings’ football campaign puts crowded bars back on the marketing menu

Despite rising COVID cases, Buffalo Wild Wings is moving forward with commercials depicting crowded bars filled with maskless sports fans. Its new campaign from The Martin Agency called “The Greatest of All Times” features NFL quarterbacks Josh Allen and Kyler Murray and WNBA star Chiney Ogwumike. The campaign includes a 60-second TV commercial debuting during Thursday’s Ohio State-Minnesota game on Fox. The chain is also hosting a competition between B-Dubs patrons in Columbus and Minneapolis that measures noise levels to determine who had the “Greatest of All Times.” “Our Greatest of All Times campaign is all about bringing that camaraderie to life. Whether that means gathering at our sports bars or at home, we’ve got you covered this fall,” Rita Patel, chief marketing officer at Buffalo Wild Wings, said in a press release. Encouraging such socialization over sports has long been a part of the Buffalo Wild Wings brand DNA. That became a more complicated task when the pandemic struck. Last year, in absence of its March Madness campaign, the restaurant released a “Sports Live On’ video, which showed a compilation of fans playing sports indoors as they strived to keep their passion for sports alive. The new campaign shows the brand again feels comfortable portraying more normal times, even as the delta variant forces some states and cities to re-institute indoor mask mandates. At colleges, whose students are a key target for Buffalo Wild Wings, the COVID situation is changing as classes resume. For instance, Duke University saw a surge in COVID cases following the first week of classes despite its vaccine mandates. The university has since implemented guidelines that require masks to be worn on campus and temporarily suspended indoor dining, according to local media reports. Buffalo Wild Wings in a statement to Ad Age said the health and safety of its guests and employees remains the top priority and that it will continue to follow the guidance of local, state, and federal public health officials. The TV spot debuting Thursday takes viewers on a lively trip after a patron finds Murray’s phone in the Buffalo Wild Wings bathroom. The guest’s friends tag along as they try to track down Murray to return his phone. Along the route, the friends meet Ogwumike, who casually eats their leftovers while directing them to a football watch party where Allen plays host. The spot ends with the group of friends returning to the restaurant to capture a better view of the game and toasting to their friendship, only to realize Murray’s phone has yet to be returned. Three 15-second spots will plug the restaurant's beer and food such as sandwiches, chicken tenders and sauces. The in-bar competition pitting Columbus against Minneapolis will measure sounds made during Thursday’s game through the use of technology from IBM Watson. Cheers and roars will receive a higher score, while groans and muted noise will result in a lower score. Other categories include the number of wings eaten, as well as the so-called Blazin’ Challenge: Guests who can eat 10 Blazin’ Carolina Reaper wings in five minutes or less will earn points for their sports bar. Points will be recorded in real-time and displayed on a scoreboard at each sports bar. The fan base that wins at least two of the three categories will be crowned the winner.

Buffalo Wild Wings’ football campaign puts crowded bars back on the marketing menu

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