2020/2021 Winners & Shortlists

GO ALL IN

BrandHARDEE'S
Product/ServiceHARDEE'S
Entrant‿ AND US Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
CategoryRebrand / Refresh of an existing Brand
Idea Creation ‿ AND US Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Media Placement ‿ AND US Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Production BLACK BOX ADVERTISING Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Background

After more than 30 years, Hardee's needed a differentiating brand refresh in the market. The aim was to 1) consolidate the regional love of the Hardee's brand amongst their existing loyal audience 2) Attract a new GEN-Z audience. The project was to roll-out a full architecture - develop a tone of voice and design aesthetic, which would drive down into multiple touch points across the full Hardee's ecosystem. This included: logo, in-store branding, packaging, above-the-line and digital marketing. Hardee's have a fraction of the budget of their biggest competitors McDonalds, KFC, PIzza Hut, and Burger King. And in a truly cluttered burger / fast-food landscape in the region, to have a chance of standing out, we had to double-down on what was true to Hardee's as a brand – and be unapologetic about it.

Describe the creative idea (40% of vote)

With a renewed spotlight on nutrition, health and moderation - fast food brands have been made to feel progressively embarrassed about who they are and what they do. Plus with society increasingly dictating how we should behave, we're all feeling the pressure. But research shows that Hardee's customers and their target market still value the joy of indulgence. They don't come to Hardee's to be 'correct' -- they come for the juicy extra large burgers, and ice cream shakes. So we decided to fly in the face of correctness and GO ALL IN on what makes Hardee's great - CELEBRATING PURE INDULGENCE. It's what eating burgers is all about. And everything in life tastes better this way.

Describe the execution (40% of vote)

We developed a distinctive new tone of voice and design aesthetic to turn every touchpoint into a brand building opportunity, making sure our liberating new spirit had a chance to breathe everywhere. The goal was to give Hardee's a clearly recognizable voice and point of view in the market. So we built a foundation of strong, liberating messaging, brought to life through bold, fierce, in-your-face typography, and bright elements. The combination of which was designed to FIRSTLY: give people a little nudge towards devouring food (and life) with unabashed freedom. SECONDLY, to shout proudly and unashamedly about our food quality and service. We didn't aim to please everyone.. as long as our audience loved it thats all that mattered. And they did. The refresh and launch campaign started in late December 2020 and continues to this day. Touch-points included logo, packaging, menu boards, uniforms, décor, social media, outdoor and TV.

List the results (20% of vote)

Sales Increased 14% 3.6 million media impressions. Social media mentions increased by 38% Hardee's best start to a year for 6 years. #GOALLIN No.1 trending hashtag on Twitter.

Credits

Name Company Role
And Us ‿ and us Creative