Nathan’s Famous welcomes summer with a talking hot dog that’s ‘100% New York’

Nathan’s Famous embraces its signature New York flavor in its first campaign from adam&eveDDB New York, featuring a talking hot dog as a spokescharacter. A pair of commercial herald the beginning of summer grilling season by visiting backyard barbecues, where guests end up having quirky conversations with heavily New York-accented franks. Directed by Pete Marquis through production company Strike Anywhere, the spot are the first since adam&eveDDB was named creative agency of record for both Nathan’s Famous and Eckrich (another Smithfield Foods brand) last November. The tagline is, “100% Beef, 100% New York.” The creative idea came from Nathan’s being “part of the fabric of New York, and stubborn like a true New Yorker, their recipe hasn’t changed in 100 years,” said Jason Ashlock, executive creative director at adam&eveDDB New York. Along with the TV spots, adam&eveDDB helped redesign the Nathan’s Famous brand, including mascot Frankie, giving him some extra attitude as well. The new Frankie has made appearances at Hot Dog Eating Qualifier events ahead of Nathan’s signature Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4 in Coney Island. “We’re using our New York roots to refresh the brand, and that includes Frankie,” said Angela Cheng, Nathan’s Famous brand manager at Smithfield Foods. “We’ve always been an iconic New York brand, but now we’re showing up in more modern ways than ever before—celebrating our great taste, appealing to people all across the country, and catching people’s attention with our talking hot dog and our mascot, Frankie, who’s full of personality and will show up in surprising ways.” “We wanted the new look of Nathan’s Famous to match its icon status. Graphic, bold typography. A classic color palette inspired by their New York history but modernized. Stickers that highlight brand benefits,” said Mitch Horton, head of design at adam&eveDDB New York. “It’s a tightly designed collage of elements, just like you’d see walking down the streets of NYC. And of course there’s our illustrated hot dog mascot, Frankie. He’s been with the brand for a while, but we’ve redesigned him for today.” Popular Creativity stories from Ad Age: Sign up for our daily Creativity newsletter to see the best stories of the day.

Nathan’s Famous welcomes summer with a talking hot dog that’s ‘100% New York’

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