- What’s the freshness date on a fast-food campaign?
- McDonald's is still lovin' it? Did somebody say "new creative"?
- Every so often, Burger King sneaks in the well-worn "have it your way," just to give consumers a taste of that old-timey ad magic.
- Not to be outdone, someone in a McDonald's meeting today will scribble these words on a legal pad: "You deserve a break...2010!"
- I don't know if Wendy’s is “w-a-a-a-y better than fast food," but their campaign is w-a-a--a-y better than the guy with the red pigtails.
- Subway. I'm not a fan, but can we all admit that the “five-dollah-foot long” ditty was ingenious? (Sing it for me, people!)
- Subway employees sampling and lamenting Domino's new toasted sandwiches? Kinda funny.
- No matter how much they push "Louisiana," consumers will still "love that chicken – and corn on the cob on a stick – from Popeyes."
- Buona Beef. Buona-fied. Buona-fed.
- The fast food/QSR lines are blurring. You can get cheesecake through the drive-through window and sliders at Applebees.
- Speaking of sliders, is White Castle a generational thing? Are teens craving those fluffy buns and square, meat-like burgers? Mine isn't.
- The Panera's and Portillo's of the world are the fast-food/QSR hyrbrids. The FFSR?
- Pizza Hut had a baby and named it...WingStreet? C'mon. We've could've done better in a ½ -hour ideation session.
- The marriage of Long John Silvers and Taco Bell. Someone at Yum! Brands must like fish tacos.
- Long John Silver's. "Go overboard"? Or "go someplace else"?
- Taco Bell. "Think outside the bun." Slogan-y. But like it or not, consumers remember slogans.
- Culver's. Great food, service and, especially, frozen custard. But "Get Culverized" should've been pulverized.
- Prediction: Jimmy Johns will outlast Quiznos. At least in this Chicago. Better spots. Better subs.
- Who will win the Jimmy John's / Potbelly battle? Anyone?
- Steak 'n' Shake. Even if you remember "tak-hom-a-sak," chances are you haven't taken one home in a while.
- Fast food: Made fast, served fast. And to be sure: eaten fast. Often while driving. (Or blogging.)
Gene Payne is a member of the R+K Food team.