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Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Group745
Creative in association withGear Seven
Group745

Don’t Die Before You Try Dave’s Hot Chicken

24/10/2022
Advertising Agency
Los Angeles, USA
437
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America’s fastest-growing restaurant chain taps into hot chicken FOMO with its first-ever creative campaign


Featuring a sunroof mishap and a time travelling blunder, Dave’s Hot Chicken has launched its debut campaign, titled ‘Don’t Die Before You Try It’. Feeding off of the fast-food FOMO that has propelled the company’s meteoric rise from parking lot pop-up to America’s fastest-growing restaurant, the spots take a comically dark approach with fans mourning their loved ones missing out on Dave’s Hot Chicken.

In just five years, the restaurant has seen tremendous, rapid success, including a recent investment from Drake, and now, its first foray into national advertising. Created in collaboration with creative agency Party Land, ‘Don’t Die Before You Try It’ is an evocative and shareable campaign with a darkly funny premise that you may feel guilty about laughing at. Sticking true to the brand’s risk-taking ethos, the campaign’s surprising tagline and call to action introduce Dave’s to a national audience in a memorable way.

The campaign debuts with two 30-second TV spots in which patrons of Dave’s mournfully tell the story of their loved ones’ untimely demise through cartoonish scenarios - like a sunroof mishap and time travel snafu - and lament that they never got to try Dave’s chicken. 



In ‘Sunroof’, a young man solemnly says, “No one loved  hot chicken more than my friend Sam. And this juicy, hot, spiced-to-order Dave’s Hot Chicken  would have been his favourite of all time… if it wasn’t for his other passion: driving with his head out the sunroof.” 

In ‘Time Machine’, Ryan’s forlorn sister shares a tearful story of her time travelling brother - who perished at the hands of his own machine (and thousands of volts of electricity). The spots end with a soberly funny plea: ‘Don’t mess up and die before you eat Dave’s’.  

Matt Rogers, creative director at Party Land says, "There’s a reality of FOMO that runs deep in the Dave’s brand. People want to try it from what they’ve read or heard from their friends, and when they do, the word spreads further. We wanted to take this FOMO feeling and blow it out of the water. At Dave’s they have a history of breaking the rules, so we had a lot of permission from them to go big. ‘Don’t Die Before You Try It’ felt like the ultimate realisation of  where the brand started." 



The campaign comes as the company is seeing triple digital sales growth and after announcing hundreds of franchised restaurant locations nationwide - coinciding also with a significant social media promotion that honours Drake, who is a large stakeholder in Dave’s Hot Chicken. 

For his 36th birthday, Drake is hooking everyone up with either a free Dave’s Hot Chicken slider or tender. Available at all Dave’s Hot Chicken locations on October 24, 2022, from 11am to 9pm local time, Dave’s fans can hit their nearest restaurant and collect their slider or tender, on Drake, by proving they follow @daveshotchicken on Instagram or TikTok. 

“Dave’s Hot Chicken will blow your mind! Every Tender is hot, juicy, and spicy,” says Bill Phelps,  Dave’s Hot Chicken’s CEO. “Our guests across the world have shown the same level of  enthusiasm for this company that the founders had five years ago when they were operating a  little pop-up in Hollywood. Now, in celebration of Drake’s birthday and our first national ad  campaign, our most famous investor wanted to give something back by letting fans try Dave’s  Hot Chicken.” 



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