A new low in advertising - "COQ ROQ"

[david_a]

So, Burger King with their new hip image (remember that plastic stalker King dude?) has unleashed an amazing new campaign on the unsuspecting world: a fake metal band.

Yes, BK devised the utterly retarded band COQ ROQ (a sort of Motley-Crue-meets-Slipknot but with... chickens) in order to promote their new chicken fries. They feature multiple chicken related songs for download (Bop Your Head, Cross the Road, etc) along with ringtones and other trash. If you've ever had the misfortune of seeing one of the ads, they seem to mostly fake live videos or something. Apparently BK actually expects kids to genuinely like this crap and happily march off to eat some greasy chicken fries while jamming out on their iPod.

When I was confronted with this atrocity last weekend I was immediately offended for several reasons. Number 1, chicken fries??! WTF kind of lardass does this appeal to? Number 2 - the music is fucking horrid. Number 3 - the concept of a major corporation creating a band for purely commercial purposes is just vile. I suppose it's not too far from what some of the major labels already do, but this is just more Xtreme. What next, Linkin Park 2.0 - Brought to you by Coca Cola?

Apparently some people are up in arms about the supposed sexual nature of the ad campaign (the website at one point featured pictures of fake fans (mainly female) with hand-written messages like "groupies love the coq" on them) but I'm far more offended by the utter stupidity of the whole concept. Things like this make me happy that I only watch PBS when I'm at home...

COMING IN 2007: THE BURGER KING RELIGION
10% OFF WHOPPERS WITH LIFETIME MEMBERSHIP!

[caco_killer]

I saw that horrible ad way too many times on TV this weekend. I don't know what BK was thinking when they came up with Chicken Fries and a fake band for the advertisments.

[Amaster]

This is uh... unexpected. Not exactly the type of image I thought BK would go for.

Burger king was always weird for not having a regular avatar like mcdonald's an wendy's do, so I guess this is some kind of weird way of trying to develop one. I dont really see it doing very well in the future.

Business-assembled entertainment is hardly new.

[Sharessa]

CHICKEN FRIES!?!?

[SteelPH]

What, in God's name, are Chicken fries?

[david_a]

Chicken in the form of a french fry. They have pretty awesome nutritional values as you might expect.

[Regen]

I think he's a resurrection from the company's earliest advertisments. bk sure has mcdonalds on a run for there money now, what with mothers dieting concerns and not wanting obese children (super size debacle) bk go's after there target market of 14-24 year olds (where the expanded late night business model is at) leaving mcdonalds in the dust with out of date intestinal playground tubage in front of there resturaunts as a reminder of who they once targeted (and are trying to get out from underneath -somewhat) 6-12 year olds. and ronald mcdonald is supposidly getting a "hipper" make over, there going to try and remove some of that farm clown freakiness from him from what i hear.

[VileSlay]

yeah, I saw saw them and thought "WTF, did GWAR and slipknot have an orgy in a chicken coop and sell the offspring to the highest bidder?" the profiles on the web site are really lame to boot. as a metalhead I am saddened and offended.

BTW, this is my first post here in something over 2 years. been out of the doom loop for a while and am trying to get back into things. but who cares. coq roq sux.

[Ninja_of_DooM]

Regen said:

And ronald mcdonald is supposidly getting a "hipper" make over, there going to try and remove some of that farm clown freakiness from him from what i hear.

Hehe, this should be fun to see. I loathe that clown, I'm sure i'll loathe him even more after this makeover.

[Ichor]

Amaster said:

This is uh... unexpected. Not exactly the type of image I thought BK would go for.

Burger king was always weird for not having a regular avatar like mcdonald's an wendy's do, so I guess this is some kind of weird way of trying to develop one. I dont really see it doing very well in the future.

Business-assembled entertainment is hardly new.

Remember Herb?

[myk]

I hope COQ ROQ did the DOOM movie soundtrack...

[geekmarine]

Personally, I think it's much better than that freaking Burger "King." I swear to God, that thing gives me nightmares. I mean, if I woke up with that guy in my bed, I'd probably kill him, and then kill myself just to be sure I've got all my bases covered.

[david_a]

Yes, the King didn't make much sense either... A creepy pseudo-supernatural entity that pops up at idiotic times to give you fast food?! MOUTH WATERING

Not to mention those bizarre song commercials that came out recently, featuring some dude singing terrible, terrible, terrible jingles in some sort of 70's plastic technicolor fast-food paradise. How is this supposed to sell food?

I can't wait to see the hipper Ronny McDonald... Maybe they'll give him some phat chains and he can McRap about Quarter Pounders with Cheese.

[Goat]

am i the only one that thought that the MUSIC part of the coq roq commercial was tight sounding.. not so much the lyrics tho

[Gokuma]

Which fastfood hellhole was it that used that guy from Hootie and the Blowfish?

[david_a]

Burger King, that was what I was refering to in the middle of my last post.

[myk]

Yeah, sometimes advertisers want to be annoying in a way you won't forget... all they care about is that you remember how the fries (now of the chicken variety too) taste, not whether you hurl insults at the silly guy singing or the weird pseudo-metal band that promotes them.

[david_a]

Yes, but these ads are so shockingly idiotic that I would go out of my way to not do business with them. I think BKs latest campaigns have backfired pretty hard.

Even some of the more popular ads don't do anything for the companies that make them... The Terry Tate Office Linebacker stuff was a big hit, but nobody bought any Reebok shoes because of it. Some of those Geico commercials are amusing (at least for a car insurance company) but apparently they do nothing to make people want to buy more car insurance.

I suppose there's still no chance that advertising will get any less annoying, no matter how hard it fails.

[Nightmare Doom]

Obey The King!

[VileSlay]

Gokuma said:

Which fastfood hellhole was it that used that guy from Hootie and the Blowfish?

that was Burger King. he was doing an awful take on "The Big Rock Candy Mountains". I believe thats what david_a was refering to when he mentioned "70's plastic technicolor fast-food paradise".

the thing that kills me about that commercial, and the general trend in fast food now, is that we live in country where obesity is a huge problem and they are advertising super fattening, larger portioned meals. what was up with that freaky king and the mega-coronary inducing breakfast sandwich? paris hilton washing a car in a barely there bikini and eating a burger she would probably puke up off camera? and taco bell with "I'm full!!!" ads? well with taco bell I'm sure you wont be full for long.

[Bucket]

VileSlay said:

paris hilton washing a car in a barely there bikini and eating a burger she would probably puke up off camera?

It's possible to eat fast food and be in shape. That said, I would fuck Paris Hilton's ass until my dick fell off.

[TheDarkArchon]

david_a said:

Apparently BK actually expects kids to genuinely like this crap.

2 words: Crazy. Frog.

[SyntherAugustus]

Wow, I'm definitely not going there to taste their angus burgers again...Quiznos 4tw!

Seriously this is just sad.

[Piezo]

Chicken fries sound a lot like popcorn chicken except bigger. I've heard popcorn chicken is good stuff, but I've never tried it. They're always selling it at Wal-Mart supercenters.

[SulfurOccult]

david_a said:

Number 1, chicken fries??! WTF kind of lardass does this appeal to?

lmao that is the same exact thought i had.

[Technician]

My friend works at BK so I'll end up trying these things.

I hate the look their trying to out on these characters, Its soo stupid. Although I have ti say the music is tight.

[SulfurOccult]

i swear, they got the dude from Audioslave to sing for Coq Roq

[caco_killer]

MasterOfPuppets said:

i swear, they got the dude from Audioslave to sing for Coq Roq

Lol, Audioslave's newest CD is pretty shitty, so BK probably hired him to write some crappy songs after hearing it.

[SulfurOccult]

i haven't listenned to audioslave sense they first came out and they were on the radio once in awhile. but to me the lead Coq sounds exactly like their singer.

[alexz721]

Fried chicken in a different shape.



Ground-breaking.