The smash burgerwhose popularity has skyrocketed in recent years, differs from the traditional hamburger in its way of cooking the meat by flattening it on the grill. And following this technique, the A&W hamburger chain has compressed one of its restaurants in Canada to communicate, precisely, the arrival of smash burgers to its menu.
With the help of the creative agency Rethink, the company created an ephemeral installation on May 22 in downtown Toronto in which both the dimensions of the premises and the objects contained therein were crushed, as if everything had been crushed under the weight of a hamburger press.
Thus, the pop-up space, which was located on King Street West, featured distorted signs, compressed furniture, stretched trays and warped decoration. Even the Rooty logo and mascot were also crushed; all this with the intention of celebrating the arrival of the first hamburgers smash to the A&W menu nationwide.
The activation, announced on the chain’s Instagram profile, included the distribution of the new burger to attendees while supplies last, before the official launch of the product, which took place on May 25. “Come crush your cravings. Torontonians are invited to an exclusive first taste of the new A&W Smash Burger at our “Smashed” A&W Pop-Up“explained the brand along with the deformed image of one of its restaurants.
The action turned the product and its particularities into the protagonist of creativity, taking the “smash” concept to its maximum expression, and thereby achieving differential communication. “How do you launch A&W’s first Smash Burger and navigate a category saturated with IPs and celebrity collaborations? You build on unique brand assets and reimagine what everyone loves about A&W, starting with its iconic restaurants.” commented Jacky Le, PR Account Director at Rethink.
The ephemeral installation is part of a broader advertising campaign that has included advertisements, content on social networks or outdoor advertising pieces. The entire strategy has been based on the “smash” concept, which in addition to referring to the product itself, is used colloquially as an expression of success.
Thus, the spots have focused on consumers’ desire to eat a delicious hamburger and its success, and in different pieces A&W Canada humorously addresses the speed with which users devour the hamburger.
