Fake Feuding Is A Bad Viral Marketing Tactic, Even With Spielberg On Your Team
READY PLAYER DUMB
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Brands: they're just like us. By that I mean brands sometimes embrace really bad ideas. When I follow through on a bad idea, I really appreciate it when someone kindly and respectfully points out where I went wrong. I'm going to extend that courtesy to Carl's Jr.

See, Carl's Jr. wants you to know that Steven Spielberg is refusing to let them serve "Spielburgers," which are just… burgers. Eater saw through the kayfabe of this fast food vs. filmmaker feud when the back-and-forth tweeting was limited to just Carl's Jr. and Warner Brothers. Carl's Jr. then sent someone out to Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment headquarters to hand deliver some burgers and whaddya know, Spielberg says the burgers are "pretty good" but won't let Carl's Jr. use his name! Shocker!

Witness one of America's most legendary directors fail to be anything close to convincing as part a viral marketing stunt:

 

Okay, so clearly there's some deal between the makers of "Ready Player One" and Carl's Jr., and whoever's responsible for this co-marketing push thought that a fake feud would be really fun. This is a decision that people made, people working on behalf of the Carl's Jr. brand. Here's some friendly feedback on their unsubtle smoke-and-mirrors game:

1. Do Something That Wasn't Already An April Fool's Gag

Someone made an entire website for a Spielberg-themed diner called Spielburgers for April Fool's day back in 2012. The joke's been done, don't do it again!

2. Avoid Puns And Dad Humor

Say no to "Spielburgers." Say no to "Ready Player Bun." Say no to "Jalapeno Parzivals" or whatever else you could strain to come up with. You're not writing a gag in "Bob's Burgers," okay?

3. Don't Play It Up So Much

If a burger brand really did upset Spielberg then sure, they might try to make it up with him by bringing him free food. They wouldn't document their slow trip on the 101, though. Traffic jams are boring both IRL and in the fake narrative of your feud!

4. Act Like You Actually Fucked Up

When brands actually screw up, they usually delete the tweet/gram/status in question and quickly issue an apology. If you want your fake fight's fiction to be complete, delete-delete-delete.

5. Remember You Already Did A Fake Feud Ad

Last year, in an attempt to shed their reputation as "that burger chain with the horny ads," Carl's Jr. ran an ad featuring the totally made-up pair of stern-faced founder Carl Hardee's Sr. and dopey bro Carl Hardee's Jr., the dude supposedly responsible for the babes-and-burger ads.

Pretty weird to throw ten years of advertising decisions under the bus when you finally realized using sex to sell burgers was gross; even weirder to do that by suggesting the brand was being managed by a large adult son that whole time; super-duper weird to go with another ad campaign centered on a fake dispute within a year!

6. Take A Page Out Of The 'Ready Player One' Book

Remember that movie this whole thing's a tie-in for? Well, back when the paperback version of the "Ready Player One" novel came out they ran a legitimately neat contest based on the book's plot. There were clues, video game challenges and a grand-prize Delorean at stake. Now that's a good idea for a viral marketing ploy!

7. Just Give Up

For some reason this entire contest is centered solely on the Carl's Jr. identity and not sister brand Hardee's, which hasn't mentioned the Spielburgers at all. Instead, over at Hardee's they're serving up good tweets like this:

 

 

Next time, send Spielberg to a graveyard with a plate of sliders. Or, y'know, just don't try to be funny.

<p>Mathew Olson is an Associate Editor at Digg.</p>

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