Restaurant Alley

The Johnny Rockets Talent Show

In an effort of full disclosure, I will admit that I love to eat at Johnny Rockets and I used to be a Broadway wannabe.

I was very intrigued by the new Johnny Rockets campaign. They are partnering with the studio behind the new "Fame" movie and promoting a talent contest called "FAME National Talent Search." They are encouraging their guests to show their talents either at contests in Six Flags theme parks, or guests can submit videos on myspace.

I like this new campaign for a few reasons:

1. It pairs food with entertainment - Some of my best meals have only been heightened by the music playing. From burger joints to steak houses, the ambiance created through thoughtful music, decor, menu design, and food presentation makes a memorable impression when done right. Food at any level can be creative and artistic and is made even better by pairing it with other artists.
2. It fits their brand - For any unfortunate souls that haven't experienced Johnny Rockets, it's a 50's style malt shop with burgers and fries. To me that says Americana. And like it or not, America has been devouring talent shows like American Idol, America's Got Talent, and So You Think You Can Dance for several years now. We like to watch the underdog with a dream have a chance to rise to stardom.
3. It's unique - Now there's nothing unique about a restaurant franchise partnering with a film studio, but this partnership is certainly different. I suspect that they hope to use social media to bring together a community to help judge the talent. While it's not a campaign to bring people in the door per se, I do think it's a great way to insert their brand into new conversations online and elsewhere.

Time will tell if this is successful, but I have a hunch it will work out well for them.

Restaurant Menu Clichés

Here is a fun article on some popular phrases used in describing items on restaurant menus. Things like "world famous" and "garden fresh" are certainly overused are good examples of "me too" marketing.

Instead of coming up with more interesting, creative, or honest descriptions for their items, they just take a trip to the well of clichés that can be found on any other restaurant menu.

Any business can fall into this trap, but it's important to distinguish your brand from everyone else. Dare to be different as they say.

Does anyone choose to visit a restaurant after seeing an ad stating that the food is "grilled to perfection" or that they serve "world famous" chicken?

Now tell me that you serve enough chicken every month to fill a football field or ship takeout across the country and I'm interested.