Designing an Advertising Campaign

Putting the Problem in Perspective: Applying Business Concepts

Before Frank Perdue began to advertise, he and his products were unknown outside of one small area in the United States. Perdue himself decided to start by running ads about his brand-name chicken in New York, a challenging designated marketing area (DMA) in which to sell any brand. His clever ad people decided to feature Frank Perdue as the spokesperson for his own products. Not only did he look and sound somewhat like a chicken, but he was able to bolster claims for the quality of his poultry with convincing personal stories. In a series of commercials, Perdue was seen in such situations as mixing grain, giving water to the chickens, and personally supervising workers. Sometimes the camera focused on his face, in close-ups. At other times it focused on the chickens or equipment, and his voice was heard narrating in a voiceover. When Perdue uttered his most famous slogan, "It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken," he conveyed a strong message about quality and personal dedication to the consumer. The ad campaign gave the company a face and a personality, and profits skyrocketed.

So successful was the Perdue campaign that it transformed the poultry industry. The thirty-second spots inspired a great deal of brand-name loyalty among chicken consumers. People who used to think of fresh chicken as being all the same began to ask for chicken by name. This brand-name awareness forced Perdue competitors to advertise their poultry products to consumers.

Perdue Farms made advertising history. In the first sixteen years with the agency, its advertising budget for radio and television increased from $250,000 to $18 million. Perdue himself became a national celebrity. It was a surprise to the agency when Frank Perdue refused to become the spokesperson for Perdue Chicken Franks. Nevertheless, the ad people found a way to keep him as the keystone of the campaign without having him appear on TV. Once again, the company's investment in advertising paid off handsomely in increased sales.