Wendy’s popular Big Kahuna burger is back but “fresher than ever” with a new campaign that sees music made out of burger ingredients.
Made with caramelised pineapple, manuka-smoked bacon, natural Swiss cheese, smokey BBQ sauce and an artisan French-style brioche bun, the new burger is available for a limited time for $9.90 at all Wendy’s 21 restaurants nationwide.
To help promote the Big Kahuna, Wendy’s and ad agency &Some enlisted hip hop artist King Kapisi, some well-known Vodafone Warriors players and a device called a ‘MaKey MaKey’.
Invented by students at one of the world’s top universities, MIT Massachusetts, the MaKey MaKey allows users to turn everyday objects into touchpads for playing music.
Launched last Sunday, Wendy’s Kahuna Fresh Beats TVC sees Vodafone Warriors players Konrad Hurrell, Bodene Thompson, Suaia Matagi and Raymond Faitala-Mariner demonstrating how “fresh beats” can be made using fresh ingredients including pineapple, lettuce, and a beef patty.
Wendy’s ambassador Kiwi Dave also makes an appearance in this his fourth advert for the Big Kahuna since its launch in 2007.
Wendy’s marketing manager Joanne Hall says the family-owned chain was looking for a quirky way to promote the burger while demonstrating that fresh is better in an entertaining way. “We source most of our ingredients locally and are the only QSR chain to offer fresh Quality Mark sourced New Zealand beef and whole chicken breast fillets as well as natural cheese, but one of our challenges is getting this message across to customers,” she says.
“We came across the MaKey MaKey online. They used bananas to make music and we’ve taken it a step further by showing how our fresh quality ingredients can be used to make great sounds.”
Involved behind the scenes, King Kapisi taught the players how to use the equipment and produced the backing soundtrack. Outtakes on the website show him playing the MaKey MaKey and interacting with customers at Wendy’s Te Atatu store.
Hall says the hip hop stalwart is also the ‘expert’ and ‘voice’ in a series of ‘how to’ videos on the microsite freshbeats.wendys.co.nz, on which users can mix and lay down their own tracks using the Kahuna burger sounds.
“King Kapisi has an amazing musical pedigree and his values align closely with Wendy’s. He was able to help coach some great sounds out of the burger and the guys, but also contributed some really good ideas to the campaign.”
Kapisi, who is busy putting the finishing touches on a new album Hip Hop Lives Here, says he enjoyed being part of the project. “With Wendy’s, everything’s made fresh and 99% of ingredients are New Zealand-made which a lot of people don’t realise.
“And working with the Vodafone Warriors was awesome, they were really into it and having heaps of fun. I was just showing them how to work the set-up properly.”
The Aucklander says he also enjoyed the reactions of the customers who were in-store during filming. “Some of the younger ones were so funny. I overheard one say, ‘Dad I can’t believe you can hit buns and get beats!’ and another say she was going to learn how to play the burger.”
You can check out what King Kapisi and the Vodafone Warriors created at freshbeats.wendys.co.nz and on TVNZ, SKY, Facebook and YouTube.
Would-be DJs can also have a go at making some fresh beats themselves. Just drag and drop the sound clips on the website, loop them and layer them up. They can then share their track online and go in the draw to win one of 10 MaKey MaKeys and other great prizes including Audio Technica earbuds and even the Hawaiian shirts worn by the Vodafone Warriors in the TVC.
And if you now want your very own MaKey MaKey and simply can’t wait, they’re for sale at www.makeymakey.com for just US$49.95.
A video on the website shows how it can be used to make music with bananas, Pacman, the treads of stairs, buckets of water and more – anything that conducts at least a tiny bit of electricity.
With a new album due out in the next few months, King Kapisi is also involved in streetwear label Overstayer Clothing, touring with the Harlem Globetrotters nationwide and in Australia in July, and an Auckland City Council community event, Elevated, on Saturday 21 February at Potters Park.
- Behind the scenes video target=”_blank”>here
- www.freshbeats.wendys.co.nz
CREDITS
Client: Wendy’s NZ
Agency: &Some
Creative Director: Andrew Nalder
Senior Account Manager: Sarah Ritchie
Producer: Cat Kay
Director: Clinton Phillips
Production Assistant: Melinda Jackson
Music: King Kapisi
Camera: Gregoire Aubourg
Gaffer: Adrian Greshoff and Sam Marshall
Sound: Teepz Rogers
Make-up: Carron Wells
Art Dept: Donna Hanson and Bryony Matthew
Food Stylists: Chris Storer and Jo Bridgford
Editor: Dave Filoialli
Voiceover: King Kapisi
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