With a new look and style that reflects the honest truths inherent in one of America’s most beloved brands, the Dairy Queen system will unveil a new advertising campaign on Memorial Day, the unofficial kick-off of summer, that focuses on the theme of Fan Food. Not fast food.

Created by Barkley, the Dairy Queen system’s new agency of record, the campaign will come to life through all consumer touch points, including television, radio, print, in-store, online, social media, and team member training.

 

The national television commercials are a combination of live action footage capturing fans sharing their love for the DQ brand and food photography that proves DQ food is fan worthy. The first commercial is a brand anthem that celebrates Dairy Queen fans and their unique relationship with the brand. The second commercial introduces the new S’mores Blizzard Treat flavor as a thank-you to all Blizzard fans. For the remainder of 2013 there will be more than a dozen ads created within the campaign.

 

“Dairy Queen consumers have a very different relationship with our brand than they do our competitors,” says Barry Westrum, executive vice president of Marketing at American Dairy Queen Corporation (ADQ). “They have a deep emotional connection with us—they are indeed fans of the brand in every sense of the word. We have raving fans. We wanted this to be the central theme of the campaign.”

 

From settings and shot styles to the tone and typeface, the campaign reflects a deliberate adherence to “real.” “Our new campaign is based on the simple, yet powerful truth that the Dairy Queen system doesn’t have customers, it has fans,” says Jeff King, CEO, Barkley. “People are rooting for them to succeed just as you see people root for their favorite teams. That is rare in the quick-service restaurant industry. Our goal is to activate DQ fans by giving them more reasons to recruit their friends and come see us more often.”