There is a radio campaign I’ve been hearing lately for Frank’s Hot Sauce – it’s actually red hot sauce, but my ears don’t hear it that way – and I absolutely love it. There are snippets of video on the website which suggest the campaign may be on TV but I haven’t seen it.
You can’t miss the radio. It’s typical actor product banter but punctuated by line “I put that bleep on everything.” Whatever word you think is bleeped out is up to you, but you just know it starts the “shhh” and rhymes with “hit”. The line is delivered by a granny-sounding actress and you can’t help but giggle (out loud). Even moms of the Southern Christian Right have to twinkle a wee bit.
The strategy is straight forward – use Frank’s on more dishes in more dayparts – but the humor is wonderfully disruptive. It’s the best radio out there. For me, though, the jury’s still out on the TV. If the website videos are representative I think the TV will fall short. The acting performance isn’t the same. The surprise isn’t there. And it almost demeans the radio. As a branding idea, I don’t see it translating in print either. But enough darts, the radio is killer.
If you know the agency and the creative minds behind the work, please share. I smell a Mercury Award. Peace!
