Behind Popeyes’ decision to buy its first Super Bowl ad

Popeyes has bought its first Super Bowl ad to let customers know that chicken wings will now be a permanent menu item, after seeing strong sales from limited-time offerings. The 30-second spot from McKinney will run in the first quarter of the Feb. 11 game on CBS, and will also air on the Nickelodeon simulcast of the game. Check out the latest Ad Age events and award programs Popeyes declined to share creative details but said the spot will feature the chain’s five wing flavors—ghost pepper, sweet and spicy, honey BBQ, roasted garlic parmesan and signature hot. Popeyes Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Klein confirmed there will be a celebrity in the spot, “but that’s as much as I can say,” he said. Even though Popeyes first announced that it would permanently add wings in November, Klein said that it is still worth buying a Super Bowl ad for the wide audience it reaches. “We don’t take this investment lightly, especially with our franchisee model,” he said, referencing that a percentage of Popeyes franchisees’ revenue goes toward advertising. “If wings had not shown to be a game-changer, it would not have been under consideration.” A 30-second Super Bowl spot cost about $7 million for this year’s game. View this post on Instagram A post shared by @popeyes The Super Bowl also represents a perfect occasion for wing orders. “We found that the top driver for consumers in choosing where to get their wings is the variety of the wings,” Klein said. “That group setting is the perfect opportunity, but not everyone wants the super hot. So that’s why we’ve done our five flavors, and will continue to add more.” Over the years, Popeyes has served wings as limited-time menu items, but the ghost pepper wings especially gained traction in January of last year. “We sold out in two-and-a-half weeks,” Klein said. “We knew then we had something special, and then followed it with our sweet and spicy flavor in August [2023]. We saw lines at our restaurants that were the same as what we saw with the launch of our chicken sandwich.” Popeyes is the first restaurant chain to confirm a Super Bowl ad buy. Packaged food brands that have confirmed buys so far include Hellmann’s, Pringles and Oreo, among others. Popeyes is also doing a “Wings for Wings” promotion leading up to the game. If an NFL team that has wings in its name, logo, or on its mascot wins the Super Bowl, Popeyes customers will get six free wings with any online or in-app purchase at participating locations. That would seemingly mean the Eagles or Ravens would have to win for fans to cash in. The promotion will be redeemable two days after the Big Game—Feb. 13, 2024, also known as Fat Tuesday, in a nod to the brand’s New Orleans heritage. Klein said that the first-party data gathered from the orders will help inform future campaigns and gain customer insights. Popeyes will also have digital and social media assets supporting the Super Bowl spot, as well as out-of-home advertising in cities with teams that still have a shot of playing in the Big Game, including Baltimore and Philadelphia. While this is Popeyes’ first in-game Super Bowl ad, the chain last year ran a pregame spot on digital platforms featuring Dieunerst Collin. He went viral in 2013 for his side-eyed expression captured in a Vine in a Popeyes restaurant. In 2023, Popeyes signed him to an NIL deal.

Behind Popeyes’ decision to buy its first Super Bowl ad

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