Try figuring out what the following phrases mean: “Pho kusahn thar ohde,” “Geh churba tinheer,” “Doned beeyan id eeyot” and “Fud fors mahrt peah pal.”
Did you figure it out? There’s no prize for being right, by the way.
Here are some clues that might help in translating those phrases. After the first one, say “we want you here in one piece.” After the second, “our fresh artisan breads are waiting for you.” After the third, “let us cater it for you.” And finally, “you don’t have to understand, the flavor speaks for itself.”
I can picture all you loyal readers working your secret decoder rings to unravel the meaning of those cryptic words. Oh, the suspense is killing me.
Those of you who already speak the “Language of Flavor” will have instantly recognized that the phrases mean, in order, “focus on the road,” “get your butt in here,” “don’t be an idiot” and “food for smart people.”
Those sayings appear on new billboards for the Spicy Pickle sandwich chain. The clues I gave are the billboard copy below the mish-mash words. The campaign broke May 1 in the Denver market, where 15 of the chain’s 37 restaurants are located.
HIM Creative of Denver created the billboards and a microsite,
Spicy Pickle said it hired the agency because the chain wanted to “reclaim the edgy, irreverent voice” it enjoyed when it was founded in 1999.
The billboards sure fit that description. I can’t recall the last time I saw a billboard warning people not to be idiots.
I searched back to find stories I’ve written about billboard campaigns or billboards that I’ve featured in Ad Watch, and only one campaign comes close in execution to the Spicy Pickle billboards. That one was for Zea Restaurants in 2006. The campaign theme was “Inspired American Food” to focus on how Zea puts a twist on traditional dishes. The copy on the billboard promoting Asian tuna salad was written in Japanese.
Most billboards are straightforward attempts to get people into the restaurant. A Cracker Barrel campaign two years ago included food shots and such copy as “Breakfast all day. Comin’ right up.”
Others like to strengthen brand image. Pizza Patron once used billboards in Dallas and Los Angeles showing happy people and the phrase “Latino Autentico” to make the bond tighter between the chain and its core Hispanic customers.
Chipotle Mexican Grill has some of the best billboards around, focusing on food quality and its “Food with Integrity” positioning.
Spicy Pickle’s “Language of Flavor” billboards are “designed to make people think, laugh and above all remember the brand the next time they crave a sandwich,” according to the agency.
They’ll think, all right, but many of them will think, “Huh?” I imagine some drivers will slow down to get a better look, a maneuver that will be followed by the sound of squealing tires and bumpers colliding.
The billboards might just be a little too clever. I don’t know about the rest of you, but when I crave a sandwich I haul butt to the nearest sandwich shop, not to the one whose billboards mystified me.
The boards are designed to build traffic on the microsite, where visitors can compose their own billboards and e-mail them to friends, and view billboards deemed “too spicy for public consumption.”
Some of those are clever, others I just couldn’t figure out.
Tony Walker, the chain’s chief operating officer, said the billboards and microsite give Spicy Pickle “the voice we want it to have.”
Which in the Language of Flavor means, “earevrent anded gee.