Badvertising: Dairy Queen and the highest form of flattery

Ok, so I mean I’ve heard that imitation is the highest form of flattery. I physically see people copping other people’s personal jams all the time. It’s how trends happen. But what about when this happens in advertising?

While streaming Parks and Recreation on HULU recently, I was forced to watch an ad for Dairy Queen. Now, I watch ads when I see them featured on ad blogs, but since I don’t have cable I miss out on them a lot. So when my friends and I finally got to see the DQ spot, we collectively rolled our eyes and said “Old Spice with an ironic mustache? Come on. REALLY?!” (BrandChannel mentioned this reaction both here and here – two months ago — but no shame in my game!)

Then my boyfriend asked how an ad agency could possibly think that copying ad styles was a great idea. And I figured I’d ask some respondents age 18-35 who were familiar with the Dairy Queen brand what they thought about the two ads below. My questions pinpointed messaging, fit with brand, and how “new or different’, if at all, the ads were compared to other ads they’ve seen regularly (these are stock questions for ad or packaging tests, by the way!)

Now, since my job isn’t completely devoted to writing blog posts and chatting with respondents, I only conducted seven interviews (4 females, 3 males). Here are the results:

• All of the respondents were not only familiar with Dairy Queen, but also regular patrons
• 5 out of the 7 responents called the ads “random” or “unique” at some point (which Brand Channel mentioned as well)
• 2 had negative reactions to the ads, stating: ”they were odd. i didn’t understand what the purpose of the commercial with the guitar had to do with the sale on the cheeseburgers.” (female, 26) and “I know that it’s supposed to be something along the lines of Dairy Queen doesn’t settle for ordinary, but the ads themselves didn’t really have a lot to do with their products for the most part” (female, 25)
• 6 out of the 7 called the ad “funny” at some point
• AND THE KICKER: 3 out of the 7 said the ad reminded them of the Old Spice ads; out of those three, ZERO felt that this association was a negative choice for Dairy Queen

Even though the respondents saw a connection between two advertisements, why didn’t they think this kind of imitation was as stupid as I did? WHY? Well, they said that the ads were funny and fit with Dairy Queen trying to stand out and be less traditional:

“The tone of it reminded me of the Old Spice ads some. it’s different from any other food place ads I’ve seen lately” – Female, 31

“They use a kind of comedy that seems familiar but the ideas they’re using are new. I’d say they’re somewhat new and different.” Female, 29

“I think that’s a more modern approach to commercials. It reminds me a lot of the Old Spice commercials.” – Female, 25

And you know, even with only seven respondents I was still able to get a better suggestion for DQ ad (ARE YOU LISTENING, DAIRY QUEEN? THIS IS WHAT PEOPLE WANT!)

“Maybe have a dolphin that responds or have a band that each instrument plays a different animal sound. Then they rock out.” – Male, 31

So my question is — what do you think of derivative advertising? Does it annoy you as much as it annoys me? Am I only annoyed because I love good advertising so much?

Oh, and here’s an example of the Old Spice campaign, in case you’ve forgotten:

One Response

1. Marla says:

   August 27, 2011 at 6:59 pm

   I find these stupid copycat commercials about sharks on balloons and body hair messages so disgusting that I change channels and sometimes turn off the TV entirely when the ad comes on. I haven’t eaten at Dairy Queen since these ads started and won’t go back til they have stopped…. maybe won’t go back at all since Dairy Queen obviously has no sense of real “taste”. Seriously… body hair in a food ad? What drugs are you on that you think this could entice anyone to go for an icecream?

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