Buy a Sub, Save the Chuck

Being a big fan of Subway's "Five Dollor Footlong," I couldn't help but be intrigued by a story about the NBC show "Chuck" and it's attempt at salvation through cold cuts in a fan-created campaign called "Finale & Footlong."


With a weak standing in the ratings, the show "Chuck" has faced cancellation recently. Before last night's season finale, fans took to the discussion boards to voice their support of the show and opposition of the cancellation.

Latching on to a small product placement in one of the episodes, the fans began rallying others together with a campaign called "Finale & Footlong." They are encouraged fans of the show to purchase sandwiches from Subway on the day of the season finale of the show. The fans hope to show that Chuck's loyal fan base represents a powerful, marketable audience.


In an article from AdAge, Subway admits they didn't create the campaign but they are more than happy to stoke the flame.

"Obviously, as a marketer, if you started that kind of behavior, you'd be called out pretty quickly," said Tony Pace, chief marketing officer for the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust. "But if the behavior is already out there, you can encourage it without being too heavy-handed. And that's what we've tried to do."

Zachary Levi, the star of "Chuck," has even joined the fans in their campaign to save the show by making an appearance at a Subway in Birmingham, England to take part in the event on Monday.

It will take some time to figure out if five dollar footlongs can really change the world. If this campaign works, you can bet that Chuck will become the new Jared.

I'd Like a Large Cheese Pizza...Extra Snot.

As many of you avid internet video viewers may already know, a video has circulated the web the last week showing 2 Domino's employees doing various disgusting things to food. The video seems to portray that the employees then intend to serve this food to customers.

Now if any of you have worked in food services, as I have, you know that things get stressful and that you sometimes do stupid things to pass the time. But, hopefully, we can all agree that we would never tamper with the food we are serving to customers as a way to blow off some steam. As you can see in this video, the 2 employees were eventually identified and fired. Furthermore, it seems that they could also be looking at jail time.

In response to the disgusting Domino's duo, Patrick Doyle, President of Domino's USA, released a video response to the issue. This video response, while upfront and adequate, lacks sincerity. Media Training 101: Look at the camera when making a public statement and DON'T READ OFF CUE CARDS. If you absolutely need a teleprompter, place it so you can be looking at the camera at the same time. If you are the President of a major company, you should be able to handle this.



Domino's took an interesting route when it came to responding to this crisis. Traditionally, a press release would have been issued immediately to the media and a press conference would've been held. Instead, the problem, which was created in the realm of social media, was essentially resolved in social media. The President of the company posted a video response on YouTube and addressed all customer questions and concerns on a Twitter page. The official statement of Domino's was posted on their company website.


While many criticize Domino's for waiting 48 hours from when the video first surfaced, can you blame them? The Internet is unpredicable and it's very possible that this video could've become lost in the shuffle. Sadly for Domino's, it did not. Therefore, it was forced to address the stupidity of 2 employees.

Domino's had to quickly throw together a social media plan that included Twitter. The Twitter page they actually used was one used by a franchise owner. Presence in social media is essential in today's world and should be created long before a crisis requires it. However, while Domino's utilized social media, the video response from Doyle was not aired on television. Since the story broke in national news on television and not just the internet, it would behoove them to at least send the video reponse to media outlets.

Some pizza chains are already taking social media seriously. Check out this job listing in the NY Times for a Twintern for Pizza Hut

A recent poll showed that 65% of those polled were reconsidering ordering from Domino's again. Are you among them? While I'm not one to chastize an entire company for the actions of just two employees at the bottom of the totem pole, I think that I will be sticking to Giordano's for a while. Snot on the side, please?

When an Ad is Not an Ad

The world of public relations is sometimes confused with advertising. At my own educational institution, they refer to my track as "PRAD" or "PR and Advertising." However, there is a distinct line of separation that most professionals can agree on. As you may recall in my last post, I used the analogy of advertising as me saying I'm a great lover. Now, if someone else says I'm a great lover, then that's public relations. The difference is the third person perspective.

The third person perspective is what public relations relies on for credibility. The public looks to the media for an unbiased, outsiders' perspective to the information. However, the Los Angeles Times recently ran an advertisement for the new NBC show "Southland" on the front page in the style of a newspaper editorial.


The advertisement, that was purposely styled to look like a legitimate news article, had minimal indication that it was for NBC. There was a separate banner that was clearly marked as "Advertisement" but the editorial itself only had a NBC logo.

While I understand the cleverness of placing an ad on the front page and designing it as if it was a legitimate news article, it crosses an ethical line when it comes to advertisement. Advertisement is intended to be clearly marked as such. Fingers could be pointed at public relations practitioners for the impact they have on the news with their influence. There's one big difference: our influence is words, not money.

An ethical public relations practitioner crafts a concise message that is mutually beneficial for the journalist and the client. The journalist uses his own objectivity to filter the information he receives to what he sees as important to the public. The client, in turn, receives a credible third person perspective. When the ads begin looking like news items themselves, it looks bad for both the advertising industry and the public relations industry. Transparency is key in this business since people must be able to trust the information they are receiving.

Advertising vs. PR

My parents love to read and subsequently send me clippings that they find interesting. They do this...frequently. I've gotten articles from newspapers, magazines, and even in-flight travel magazines.

Recently, my mom sent me an interview she had read in NWA World Traveler magazine with Dave Mona, chairman of Weber Shandwick's Twin Cities office. It was ironic since I had just been doing some research about the firm and hadn't even mentioned it to her.

The best part of the article was when the interviewer asked Mona to describe the difference between advertising and PR. This is a pretty basic question for anyone in public relations and you could tell he had worked on this answer.

Mona said, "If I tell you I'm a great lover, that's advertising. If someone else tells you I'm a great lover, that's public relations."

I found this great visual representation of what Mona said.