Jack in the Box spars with Martha Stewart on social media for Super Bowl play

Dive Brief:

Fast-food chain Jack in the Box unveiled its regional 60-second Super Bowl ad and social media campaign, pitting Martha Stewart against the restaurant's mascot Jack Box for a culinary feud, per a news release made available to Marketing Dive. The ad promotes Jack in the Box's new Food Truck Series sandwiches, including the Asian Fried Chicken Sandwich, Prime Rib Cheesesteak and Pork Belly BLT, which debut on Feb. 1.
In the ad, created by David & Goliath, Jack barges onto the set of Stewart's cooking show after hearing her say, "You'd never find this at a fast-food restaurant" about a banh mi-inspired fried chicken sandwich she'd just made. He challenges her with the brand's Asian Fried Chicken Sandwich, asking, "Afraid someone in the fast-food world is going to show you up?" as he's dragged away by security.
Jack in the Box is encouraging consumers to follow the feud on social media using hashtag #JackvsMartha after the Super Bowl. The regional campaign will feature the two trading jabs via social media posts, videos, gifs and even giving out each other's personal phone numbers. The brand also released a 15-second teaser of the ad. The brand partnered with Buzzfeed and Funny or Die on some of the content. Working with media partner Carat, the brand will also test six-second regional spots to capture consumers' shorter attention spans.

Dive Insight:

Social media feuds, celebrity and otherwise, tend to be something consumers enjoy watching and engaging with. They've also become popular in the fast-food space in recent years, where brands like Wendy's have started to goad their competition into online spats over the quality of ingredients or even for impromptu rap battles.

For the Super Bowl, Jack in the Box is clearly trying to ride this trend by stepping up to a household name, Martha Stewart, and is tapping into a number of highly-shareable media formats like hashtags and gifs to stir the pot and get its followers chattering online both before and immediately following the game, where the feud between the two will ramp up on Twitter.

Releasing a teaser, the full 60-second ad and auxiliary media like a fake text exchange between Jack and Stewart could stoke excitement for those eager to see how the rivalry plays out and who will be following along via the #JackvsMartha hashtag. The test of regional six-second ads is a first-to-market opportunity, per information made available to Marketing Dive. Six-second ads have been slowing gaining steam, migrating from digital to TV. By partnering with a culinary icon like Stewart, and leaning into the specialty food truck trend, Jack in the Box might send a message that the quality of its new sandwiches is higher than what other fast-food chains have to offer.

A marketing campaign focused on competition fits into the spirit of the big game, and other brands are taking a similar angle with their creative. PepsiCo, for example, is teasing a celebrity square-off between Morgan Freeman and Peter Dinklage, with the former representing the brand's Mountain Dew product and the latter doing the same for Doritos.