EFFIE AWARDS
BRIEF OF EFFECTIVENESS
Jacks’ Back: The Story of Jack in the Box’s Comeback
Brand Name: Jack in the Box
Product Type or Description: Fast Food
Category for this Entry: Sustained Success
Campaign Title: Jack’s Back – The Story of Jack in the Box’s Comeback
Agency: Secret Weapon Marketing
Client: Jack in the Box, Inc.
Initial Marketing Challenge and Campaign Strategy:
A 2 year-old boy died Friday from bacterial infection linked to tainted fast-food restaurant hamburgers. The boy died
of heart failure brought on by a kidney disease resulting from his infection with E. coli 0157:H7. At least 75 people,
all in western Washington except for two in Spokane and three in Boise, Idaho have fallen ill from E.coli 0157:H7
infection this month. Most of those stricken were children who had eaten hamburgers at a Jack in the Box
restaurant.
So began the front page Los Angeles Times article on January 24, 1993, which alerted the nation to the largest and
deadliest E. coli outbreak ever. Tragically, more than 700 people were made sick, dozens required dialysis, and four
children died. The outbreak shattered Americans’ confidence in Jack in the Box, and spurred a national debate over
the safety of food products in general. It is difficult to express the personal effect the crisis had on the people of
Jack in the Box. At their headquarters in San Diego, CEO Bob Nugent met regularly with employees who had
formed prayer groups to cope with the tragedy.
Jack in the Box’s business came to an abrupt halt in Seattle. Across the 1,224 stores of the regional fast food chain,
first quarter 1993 sales plummeted 28% and its stock price fell from $17 per share to $3 by December 1994.
Moody’s downgraded its debt to junk bond status. Many believed the company would go bankrupt. But Bob Nugent
fought to save Jack in the Box. To correct Operations procedures, Mr. Nugent hired the leading food scientist Dr.
David Theno, who immediately implemented the most comprehensive food handling system in the country. During
this time, the Jack in the Box Marketing Department focused on short-term efforts to bribe customers back into Jack
in the Box with deals that were impossible for the company to sustain over time. (Fig. 1)
The brand was in crisis. Jack in the Box became synonymous with poisoned meat. Since the incident, to this day in
fact, any article that discusses food-borne illnesses – E. coli, Mad Cow Disease, salmonella – invariably refers to
the Jack in the Box outbreak. The unsaid truth is, even prior to the crisis, the brand was not in great shape. It had
suffered from rumors and urban legends about using kangaroo meat and other absurdities long before this crisis.
When E. coli hit, it seemed to confirm in many people’s minds that Jack in the Box could not be trusted. The Jack in
the Box brand stood for very little other than low quality food. (Source: Agency Qualitative Research)
EFFIE® Awards
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Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
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The marketing challenge for the advertising was, quite literally, to save the company, and save the brand.
Qualitative research revealed that consumers had very few positive attributes to attach to Jack in the Box other than
the “cute clown head” that was blown up on TV in 1980 - to signal a more adult-oriented menu. Quantitative
research showed that the advertising needed to earn the consumer’s trust back by showing that Jack in the Box had
made major overhauls to the company. (Source: Jack in the Box Quantitative research) This is what the agency
started with: A broken business, a weak brand and one CEO who believed it could all be fixed.
Campaign Objectives
To save the company, it was crucial that we dramatically turn around the most fundamental measurements of Jack
in the Box’s business:
1.INCREASE REVENUES
2.RESUSCITATE AND STABILIZE THE STOCK PRICE
3.INCREASE PER-STORE SALES
You won’t be surprised to hear that the campaign was a wild success. We’re writing an Effie for it, after all. But, as
time went on, the expectations for the advertising continued. After achieving the above three objectives year over
year the focus turned to margins. Now that the company had regained its strength, it was time to promote the
products that provided long-term value for the brand. The high quality products that were worth paying more for.
You see, you can have high per-store sales and still not be making the profits you could be making. So we set out
to help Jack in the Box promote their “Top Tier” high quality products - products like the Ultimate Cheeseburger and
the Sourdough Jack and, in 2004, Jack’s Ultimate Salads and Deli Sandwiches.
NEW OBJECTIVE:
4. IMPROVE MARGINS (ADDED IN 2002)
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
Target Audience
Prior to the “Jack’s Back” campaign, Jack in the Box was employing a typical broad fast food targeting strategy –
Target Everyone. (Fig. 2) After all, everyone eats fast food – how can you target narrowly? In 1995, McDonald’s
brand was linked inseparably with kids and parents who saw it as “nostalgic.” Their advertising was seen as warm,
inclusive and family-friendly. Burger King had similar attributes, but was less clearly focused. Wendy’s Founder,
Dave, had warmth and an old-fashioned corniness that no one seemed to mind. It was all very safe and broad.
No brand created an emotional bond with the “core” of the fast food audience: Young men, ages 18–24. These
were the guys visiting fast food most often. (Source: Quick Track) As a regional player with only a small percentage
of the media budgets of the national “fast food guys”, staying focused on a narrow target would make our money go
farther. (Fig. 3) So, the creative was crafted to appeal to young guys, 18-24. They appreciate irreverence. Their BSmeter is always on and they get bored with predictable fast food advertising. We had to reach out and grab the
attention of the heaviest fast food user - and hold that attention.
In 2002, a super-saturated restaurant industry became the challenge. Consumers suddenly had doubled the
restaurants to choose from versus ten years before. We needed to broaden our reach to continue to grow. Jack in
the Box set out to better understand the potential of the moderate fast food user (those who eat fast food 12-19
times a month). (Source: Quick Track)
The moderate user looked almost exactly like the heavy user demographically and research showed that Jack’s
irreverence strongly appealed to this group too. (Agency research) Seeking out new “fresher” products to add to
their routine was the reason for slightly less fast food usage than our heavy users. (Source: Simmons SMRB 2002)
So, the target became heavy AND moderate fast food users and Jack in the Box set out to develop the fresher
products needed to appeal to this group. (Fig. 4)
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
Strategy Rationale
So there were monsterous business goals to achieve and only one tool left to accomplish them - the advertising
campaign. We knew that we really had to re-invent Jack in the Box and re-instill some trust among fast food users
in this brand. Consumers needed to believe that Jack in the Box was under completely new management…oh yes,
and we needed to feature products and deals while at the same time building a long-term brand. A pretty hefty
order.
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
THE CAMPAIGN’S CREATIVE STRATEGY WAS, IN SHORT – TO BRING BACK JACK.
Prior to 1980, Jack was a ‘50’s era metal clown head you’d yell your order into at the drive-thru. For the new
campaign, the creative idea was to bring him back, but this time, reborn, as the maverick CEO who was ousted
back in 1980. It was the perfect metaphor to show that things at Jack in the Box were going to be different. The
corporate boardroom is a symbol for business as usual. In the first commercial, Jack blows it up. (see “I’m Jack”
TV enclosed) Jack’s the embodiment of change. He’s back and he’s on a mission: To improve the food and the
entire experience at Jack in the Box.
The early campaign years were about establishing Jack as an “Agent of Change”- fighting for the consumer.
Every year, every quarter, the agency conducts qualitative and quantitative advertising research to make sure that
messages are still relevant and distinctive. During the first year of the campaign, it was clear that the audience
understood that things were different now at Jack in the Box. They saw Jack as the underdog, fighting past errors,
fighting the competition. The campaign’s humor even helped to diffuse the unsympathetic feelings generated by the
E. coli tragedy. (Source: JIB Qualitative and Quantitative Ad Research)
The immediate popularity of the campaign offered us the opportunity to focus on longer-term strategic marketing
objectives to extend our campaign into the next decade. It also required showing Jack’s 360° world. And so with
new spots, Jack’s personality was fleshed out. He was a husband, a father, a red-blooded, muscle car driving
American male, and an average football-loving guy. Jack is always used as an “Agent of Change”, and not just
another mascot shilling hamburgers - because of this, the integrity of the campaign has remained intact. It remains
intact because it remains relevant, not just distinctive.
Over the years we have focused on the following strategic areas:
Initiating and Communicating Food Quality Improvements For example, in 1997, “The Visit” spot
announced a whole new system for preparing food to ensure it was fresh and hot when our customer received it by
spoofing “Cops” and chasing down a rejecter. This spot is still mentioned 5 years later in qualitative research. (See
“The Visit” TV enclosed)
Focusing on Quality Core Products to Keep the Heavy User interested For example, in 2000, the
“Meaty Cheesy Boys” spot promoted the ever-popular, indulgent Ultimate Cheeseburger with a boy band spoof on
pop culture.
In recent years, Introducing New Core Products with Fresher, High Quality Ingredients to Attract the
Moderate User For example in 2004, with “Deli” TV Jack invents a fresh, high quality, deli-style sandwich that you
can get at the drive-thru – because customers like a deli sandwich, but they don’t like the wait that goes along with
it. (See “Deli” TV enclosed)
Continuing to Build an Emotional Link with our Target by being irreverent and current. For example, “No
French” poked fun at the French while promoting Jack’s new Natural Cut French Fries.
The campaign began in January 1995 and is in its tenth year. Just three months after the campaign began; perstore sales had already averaged an increase of 1.9% versus the previous year. (Source: JIB Marketing Analysis)
Quarterly qualitative research showed consumers thought it was clear that things were different now at Jack in the
Box. In 2004, this campaign continues to pull some of the highest recall numbers in the advertising industry. “Total
awareness, general appeal and claimed motivation remain the highest in the category.” (Source: C.A. Walker
Quantitative Study Spring 2004) – and with yet another superb sales year, the Marketing Department at Jack in the
Box encourages our irreverent CEO to keep charging forward.
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
Media Strategy
The rationale behind the “Jack’s Back” media strategy is built on three facts:
1. THE CAMPAIGN STARTED WITH A VERY SPECIFIC TARGET AUDIENCE.
The campaign’s creative attitude and Jack’s personality were shaped by its young male 18-24 Fast Food User
target. The media budget allocated 90% to television, and 10% radio. Buying strategies evolved over the duration of
the campaign to better reach the young male target, a target notoriously difficult to reach. For example, the media
agency developed a proprietary system for analyzing our target’s involvement with television programming.
Involvement scores are generated based on familiarity, likeability, and frequency of viewing a program. This
process helps the campaign reach the elusive young male viewer. Sports packages represented over 25% of the
media budget. They created the feeling that Jack in the Box dominates advertising in our target’s favorite TV
programs, and helped greatly to compensate for our relatively low media spending.
TODAY: With the addition of the moderate user target (still a focused target), the media mix has changed only
slightly since this broader target looks a lot like the heavy user demographically (print and outdoor have been
added). By incorporating an event by event planning process we are able to change the programming focus to
broaden the reach to the moderates when promoting a higher quality fresh product. We can then go back to the
sports packages for the core burger products to reach our heavy user.
2. JACK IN THE BOX WILL ALWAYS BE OUTSPENT IN ANY AND ALL OF ITS MARKETS.
McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell are all national advertisers who each spend hundreds of millions
of dollars on network and spot television. As a regional player concentrated in ten markets, Jack in the Box couldn’t
benefit from efficiencies of scale. Media was limited to spot buys (and regional cable) only. In 1995, Jack in the
Box’s average share of voice across its ten key markets placed them in 5th place. (Source: AdSpender)
Communicus/Burke Marketing Research showed Jack in the Box advertising to be 3 times more salient than the
Fast Food norm. It was estimated that the breakthrough-ability was equivalent to $3 million per flight. The creative
was so salient that with just half the planned TRPs, the message was being delivered clearly. (Source:
Communicus)
TODAY: For the last year ending August 2004, Jack in the Box’s share of voice averaged 4th place in each of its key
markets. (Source: CMR Competitive Report 2004) McDonald’s still outspends Jack in the Box 3 – 1. But among our
male heavy and moderate users, the “Jack’s Back” campaign’s Total Ad Awareness is in a tie for first place with
McDonald’s for burger chains. (Source: C.A. Walker Quantitative Spring 2004)
3. THE CAMPAIGN HAS TO SELL PRODUCTS – IMMEDIATELY.
Jack in the Box’s media budgets are generated by an advertising-to-sales ratio. As sales grew rapidly with the
“Jack’s Back” campaign, the media budget was able to grow along with it. The annual media budget to launch the
campaign in 1995 was $39 million. (Source: Media agency) The larger budget meant that more products could be
advertised. A “Tiered Approach” was developed after the first year, whereby a primary media event would air, and
then be supported with an additional secondary product, and depending on the market, even a third tier message
could be added. The increased budget also allowed for development of the Hispanic media market, as the
campaign has been translated into Spanish to reach this key demographic.
TODAY: Thanks to successful sales growth, the media budget has more than doubled over the past ten
years. The year 2004 media budget was near $100 million. We still follow the tiered approach to media
support, but now we can even support high margin, low volume products that normally wouldn’t merit
advertising support.
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
Media Allocation Chart:
D: $30 to under $50 million
E: $50 million and over
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
Evidence of Results
1. INCREASE REVENUES
• Since the “Jack’s Back” campaign launched, the company’s revenues have more than doubled
• Jack in the Box has enjoyed 9 consecutive years of record revenues breaking $2 billion in 2003 (Fig. 5)
(Source: JIB Marketing Analysis)
2. RESUSCITATE AND STABILIZE THE STOCK PRICE
• We not only resuscitated the Jack in the Box stock price, but we surpassed the major fast food
competitors in 1999 and have held stronger than these competitors for the last 5 consecutive years
• Today, Jack in the Box’s stock price is 685% higher than when we launched this campaign in 1995
(Fig. 6) (Source: Yahoo Finance)
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
3. INCREASE PER-STORE SALES
• The campaign led to an immediate sales recovery that has continued for 10 years, with an industry
leading annual growth rate of 3.2% over the life of the campaign This represents more than triple the
average fast food category growth rate (Source: Nations Restaurant News)
• Jack in the Box per store sales have increased a total of 37% in 10 years (Fig. 7)
4. MARGIN IMPROVEMENT (ADDED IN 2002)
• Since 2002, the advertising has been successful at convincing consumers to trade from less profitable
products to newer, higher priced options like Deli Sandwiches and salads to the tune of a 10.9%
increase in margins. That’s because Jack in the Box advertising indexes at 334 for menu-related
motivation - more than double that of McDonald’s, Subway, BK and Wendy’s (Source C.A. Walker
Quantitative Research Spring ‘04)
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.
EFFIE® Awards
New York American Marketing Association
116 E. 27th St., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-687-3280 Fax: 212-557-9242
2005: The information available through effie.org is the property of the New York American Marketing Association and is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. This
brief may be displayed, reformatted and printed for your personal use only. By using this site, you agree not to reproduce, retransmit, distribute, sell, publicly display, publish or broadcast
the information to anyone without the prior written consent of the New York American Marketing Association.