MORE ON ADAGE.COM
AdAge.com/adages ➜
CSPI is once again
targeting sugary
beverages, this time with
a campaign that says
“Life’s sweeter” without
such things.
NOT SO SWEET
DOMINO’S IN SPACE
SUSHI DEAL SMELLS
‘LIKE’ AIR KORYO
AUTO AD LEGEND
KELMENSON DIES
Domino’s Pizza in Japan
plans to build the first fast-food outlet on the moon,
revealed the pizza maker’s
president in Japan, Scott K.
Oelkers.
AdAge.com/global ➜
For some reason, Living
Social’s deal for a sushi-making class was full of
puns based on the song
titles of pop sensation
Adele.
AdAge.com/adages ➜
North Korea’s state-owned
airline Air Koryo has a
chirpy English-language
Facebook page that
appears to be aiming to
encourage tourism.
AdAge.com/global ➜
ILLUSTRATION BY ALEX OSTROY
Friendly’s
launches a
high-energy,
high-five effort
AdAge.com
Longtime adman Leo-Arthur
Kelmenson died at his home in
Remsenburg, N.Y., on Aug. 30. He
was 84. Mr. Kelmenson was perhaps
best known for his work in auto
advertising, where he worked on
major accounts including Ford,
General Motors and Chrysler. He
was a friend and adviser to former
Chrysler executive Lee Iacocca.
DON’T PLAY LIKE
A COVER BAND
■ BY MAUREEN MORRISON
mcmorrison@adage.com
IF YOU’RE THE SORT of person who
gets annoyed when servers sing
“Happy Birthday” to a patron or break
into a line dance, you might want to
avoid Friendly’s.
Believing that most chains “don’t
display enough energy,” Harsha Agadi,
chairman-CEO of the East Coast ice-
cream chain, is ramping up “a super
aggressive and extremely simple” cam-
paign to “get to the energy level like
that of a high-school football game.”
So Friendly’s is pledging to give
away a trillion high-fives. Employees
will high-five customers and other
employees, and the chain’s mascot will
be a character called High 5 Heidi.
The push begins with teaser ads this
week and a full-blown launch Sept. 19.
The ads, developed by Via Agency (KSL
Media, New York, is handling media
buying), feature Mr. Agadi as well as
the new brand mascot. Additional
components to the campaign include
billboards, events and a mobile app.
The reasoning is that Friendly’s
main constituency—families—will
appreciate the personal touch.
In some ads, Mr. Agadi observes people in various situations where high
fives occur. In another, he is in the
boardroom with Friendly’s executives,
asking them to brainstorm ideas for
how to promote a High Five menu
(with, naturally, five items priced at $5).
Heidi suggests giving a way a million
high fives, and Mr. Agadi responds with,
“That’s brilliant! How about a trillion?”
John Coleman, CEO of Via, said
Heidi is a cross between Progressive’s
Flo and comedian Amy Poehler. “We
thought she’d be a great way to illustrate how the employees should be,” he
said, jokingly adding, “She’s really
enthusiastic, sometimes too much.”
Darryl Ohrt writes:“The Accidental
Creative podcast has a rather
brilliant mantra : ‘Cover bands don’t
change the world.’ Our industry
comprises countless talented
agencies. And yet the majority
manage their operations as if
they’re in cover bands.”
AdAge.com/smallagency
SEARCH STARTS TO
REWARD CREATIVITY
Adrienne Waldo writes: “Black
hatters are suffering repercussions
of years of questionable practices,
and ethical marketers are seeing
their sites move into the places they
deserve. Transparency, authenticity
and creativity are more important
than they’ve ever been.”
AdAge.com/digitalnext
OBAMA NOT LIKELY TO WIN WITH FANS OR
MARKETERS GOING UP AGAINST THE NFL
■ BY BRIAN STEINBERG bsteinberg@adage.com
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA found his
approval ratings plummeting among
citizens of NFL nation last week,
including sponsors such as Pepsi,
Snickers, Verizon, Visa and GMC.
Obama moved a jobs speech to
Thursday, which coincides with the
NFL’s season opener, to be carried on
NBC. The White House has scheduled
the speech to take place sometime
between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. and NBC
was, as far as we could tell at press time,
figuring out whether it will televise the
usual pre-game hoopla. An NBC
Sports spokesman did not return
queries, but an NFL spokesman said,
“We’re preparing for the game and a
big night at Lambeau Field and in
Green Bay.”
Marketers would probably prefer
the football. The speech will be televised
across umpteen different channels,
commercial free. And football—well,
it’s football. Already, the general man-
ager of NBC’s Green Bay affiliate told
the Post-Crescent newspaper of
Appleton, Wis., that he’d pick up a feed
of the game over a feed of the president
if NBC were to offer both.
Die-hard
fans,
however,
might prefer
some
speechifying
to the over-the-top
musical
silliness the
NFL’s been
grafting on
to opening
night the
past few
years.
ADAGE.COM: AdAgeEditor@adage.com.
Also see masthead on, PAGE 15
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Outdoor is part of Friendly’s effort to hand out
a trillion high-fives. Employees, we hope, must
wash hands.
Contents copyright 2011 by Crain Communications Inc. All
rights reserved.
Advertising Age (ISSN 0001-8899) Vol 82, No. 31. Published
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