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LOUISVILLE, KY. -- KFC's pitchman Jason Alexander will fly the coop before the chicken chain launches new advertising in August. KFC made the decision last month to retool its creative [...]

Television, which made its debut in 1945, reached maturity during the 1950s at approximately the time when fast food restaurant chains were coming into existence and the restaurant industry hitched their star to television advertising. Restaurants have used celebrities, cartoon characters, fictional characters and even restaurant chain owners to popularize their restaurants and send their messages to the public. Resultingly, the television advertising spokesperson has become the most important marketing figure for the fast food restaurant industry., Television made its debut in 1945, and within 10 years it had become the leading medium for national advertising. The meteoric rise of the medium into the hearts and minds [...]

Never before has the restaurant industry's advertising been slicker, glossier or more glamorous, according to The New York Times advertising columnist Stuart Elliott. 'The food has never looked better and [...]

WENDY'S is completing its nationwide rollout of its Frescata deli sandwiches as part of a strategy to bolster declining sales. The chain is kicking off a nationwide ad campaign on [...]

* KFC's advertising will focus on its signature fried chicken due to disappointing sales of new roasted chicken strips, noted Yum Brands' chief executive David Novak. The chain will, however, [...]

Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission are examining the validity of health claims made in advertisements for KFC's fried chicken, ads that the chain pulled on Nov. 21, reported Fox [...]

In an effort challenge upmarket brands such as Panera Bread, Quiznos and Cosi, sandwich chain Subway Inc. is changing its advertising campaign that had promoted weight loss. 'Along with the [...]

A new ad campaign with the theme line, 'I'm lovin' it,' is being launched by Oak Brook, IL-based McDonald's Corp. It is an expression on which McDonald's claims a trademark, [...]

In an industry whose leader, KFC, has a $200 million advertising budget and an estimated 39% share of the fast-food chicken market, some would think that the smaller players would [...]

* Arby's, the roast beef chain operated by Triarc Cos., is gearing up to launch its first national ad campaign in about 15 years, touting a new group of hot [...]

50-year-old Arctic Circle hopes its hip ad campaign will attract new customers and sales. In the year of reality-based television, a true QSR survivor is trying something real. After half [...]

The last time I set eyes upon the 'The Mad Dr. Cravin,' a car was running over him after he had failed yet again to hijack a Domino's pizza delivery. [...]

We love our salmon U.S. consumption of salmon reached an all-time high of two pounds per capita in 1999, a 5 percent increase over the 1998 level of 1.9 pounds, [...]

Full-page ads appeared in national publications last month announcing the 'least expensive and most accessible Initial Public Offering in U.S. history.' The ads also touted that trading would begin at [...]

* National restaurant advertising rose 7.5% in 1999, but the increase fell short of the 10.3% overall spending increase among advertisers in all industries, according to Competitive Media Reporting. This [...]

OAK BROOK, ILL. -- McDonald's Corp. Kicked off a two-week 'Teletubbies Hugs' Happy Meal promotion April 14, a premium giveaway that features plus clip-ons fashioned after the Teletubbies characters -- [...]

Targeting a nontraditional audience may help nontraditional QSR El Pollo Loco lure diners looking for healthy fast food. A fast-food ad campaign that doesn't target 18-year-old men? Sounds crazy, doesn't [...]

MIAMI -- Burger King agreed to change a radio spot for its bacon-cheddar Whopper after a Muslim organization received calls complaining that the ad was offensive. The spot targeted African-Americans [...]

McDonald's Corp. will launch a 'Passport to Kenya' sweepstakes Feb. 25, joining other restaurants with promotions targeting African-Americans during February's Black History Month. Denny's restaurants already is conducting its first [...]

Score one for Pizza Hut in its recent piebashing brouhaha with arch-rival Papa John's. A federal judge ruled that Papa John's must fork over $468,000 in damages and cease and [...]

AUSTIN, TEXAS -- Schlotzsky's Inc. will break new network TV ads in March to differentiate its product from sandwich-segment competitors as it seeks to lure first-time customers into its stores. [...]

PITTSBURGH -- Pizza Outlet is airing broadcast ads promoting free side orders during a 'One, Two, Free' campaign. The offer is for one large pizza, two toppings, and a choice [...]

Here's a great TV commercial: A guy wakes up on the morning of New Year's Day. He reaches for the aspirin, because apparently he partied too hard the night before. [...]

MOUNT OLIVE TWP., N.J. -- In case any of the marketing executives at the nation's top burger chains stay awake at night wondering about the power of their advertising, rest [...]

Not since Bill Clinton wrapped his big lips around those McDonald's burgers has a quick-serve operator received more free publicity than the mileage Pizza Hut is enjoying because of another [...]

Can't tell The Backstreet Boys from 'N-Sync, Boyzone and all the other teen-heartthrob harmonizers? Then you're ready for 'Meaty Cheesy Boys' stars of Jack in The Box's latest television and [...]

And in This Corner ... McDonald's decision to feature boxers Oscar De La Hoya and Felix Trinidad in television commercials last month has a touch of irony: The chain has [...]

ANN ARBOR, MICH. -- Domino's Pizza is conducting a closed review for the national creative portion of its estimated $120 million ad account and expects to announce results by the [...]

PITTSBURGH -- Pizza Outlet launched three 60-second radio ads promoting its large pizza with unlimited toppings under the tag, 'Delivering great taste, and lots of it.' The spots focus on [...]

ATLANTA -- Arby's is preparing to break a 'mini-campaign' of two 30-second TV spots in October using testimonials from real customers and the tag, 'Good Taste Endures' to mark the [...]

MIAMI -- Burger King Corp. launched a tie-in to college football with a 'Win Your Way' scratch-off game that offers food and merchandise prizes and an opportunity for customers to [...]

In the beginning was the wheel, and then came marketing to reinvent it over and over again. That's what a marketing professor told me years ago. His point was that [...]

SAN FRANCISCO -- Domino's Pizza plans to air interactive TV ads here during a 'Star Trek' marathon Aug. 21 and 22 on UPN network affiliate KBHK-TV and may expand such [...]

OAK BROOK, ILL. -- McDonald's Corp. will offer three $1 million prizes and eight Happy Meal toys that connect into a 15-inch tall 'Gadget Man' as part of its tie-in [...]

Wendy's (5) television advertisements have been doing it Dave's way for a decade. In 1989, Dave Thomas, founder of the Dublin, Ohio-based hamburger chain, made his debut TV appearance as [...]

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA -- After queries by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, McDonald's Corp. said it would discontinue advertising its 'grilled chicken burger' as a grilled product. The chicken patty [...]

LAGUNA HILLS, CALIF. -- Mexican quick-serve operator Del Taco chose WongDoody as its new agency of record and expects the first campaign from the agency to break in mid-June. WongDoody, [...]

The sophisticated, high-stakes advertising game sharpens fast-food identities. WHITE CASTLE IS CREDITED WITH being the first fast-food chain, opening the doors to its first restaurant in 1921. Eleven years later, [...]

KANSAS CITY, MO. -- Breaking away from the pack of businesses trying to advertise across the small screens of phones and computers, McDonald's operators here asked patrons to submit two-word [...]

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A 5-story-tall taco looms over motorists as they travel a busy freeway in Los Angeles, an example of how a few restaurant chains are growing more innovative with [...]

As if rising commodity costs and increased competition were not posing enough worries for big quick-service chains, their costly expenditures for television advertising now may be yielding a dwindling response [...]

Foodservice executives who still believed that taking a swipe at competitors in an ad campaign was a risk-free move were reminded recently of the dangers of making rivals the butt [...]

BALTIMORE -- Medal winners usually are the only Olympic athletes who win product endorsements, but Subway restaurants here are breaking with tradition by using local hero and Olympic figure skater [...]

ANN ARBOR, MICH. -- As other leaders in the pizza segment increase their reliance on discounts, Domino's Pizza has resumed selling three one-topping pies for $5 each after quietly ending [...]

After successfully raising prices over the past two years with premium products like salads and oversized sandwiches, fast feeders are finding that customers still crave the good deals promised by [...]

DALLAS -- Dickey's Barbecue Pit, a 64-unit fast-casual chain based here, has dropped TV from its marketing mix for the first time in nearly 15 years. Instead, the chain is [...]

Mendelsohn/Zien, the Los Angeles-based ad agency that handles the accounts for CKE Restaurants Inc.'s Carl's Jr. and Hardee's concepts, knows how hard it is for a brand to create headlines [...]

IT'S ESTIMATED THAT the average American kid seated in front of the TV will see 10,000 food advertisements in the course of a year. On Saturday mornings alone, Junior will [...]

OAK BROOK, ILL. -- McDonald's Corp., bolstered by a super-sized leap in sales, is tinkering with an automated cooking system for its burgers and fries, preparing to unveil a new [...]