| The Subservient Chicken | |
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| Agency: | Crispin, Porter + Bogusky |
| Client: | Burger King |
| Product(s): | TenderCrisp |
| Year: | 2001 – present (as of 1-2011) |
The Subservient Chicken is an advertising program created to promote international fast food restaurant chain Burger King's TenderCrisp chicken sandwich and their "Have it Your Way" campaign. Created for the Miami-based advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky (abbreviated to CP+B) by The Barbarian Group, the program featured a viral marketing website, television and print campaigns and a one-time pay-per-view program. The program was similar to other marketing campaigns created by CP+B for Burger King, including the Coq Roq, Ugoff, and Sith Sense.
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The TenderCrisp sandwich was first advertised using the Subservient Chicken character in a commercial called the Subservient Chicken Vest. The commercial was the first in a series of ads for the sandwich utilizing a line of viral marketing promotions by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for Burger King. In the ad, a man is sitting in his living room directing a person in a chicken suit to behave in any way he wants. The tag line was "Chicken the way you like it." According to Jeff Benjamin, an Executive Creative Director at CP+B, the campaign evolved from a television idea into an interactive one.[1] After the success of the Subservient Chicken, Burger King used the character in several subsequent advertising campaigns.
In addition to the commercials, there is "The Subservient Chicken" web page. On the page, a man in a chicken costume performs a wide range of actions based on a user's input, showing pre-recorded footage and appearing like an interactive webcam.[4] The site takes literally the advertising slogan "Get chicken just the way you like it". The site launched on April 8, 2004. The site was created for CP+B and BK by The Barbarian Group and is hosted at GSI in Kansas City, Missouri. "The guy in the suit was originally an actor, but he was claustrophobic in the suit, so he wouldn’t do it. And we had to use one of the costume’s designers... He would do about six moves and then we would have to fan him off because he would get so hot in the costume," says CP+B ECD Jeff Benjamin.[5]
There are more than three hundred commands that the Subservient Chicken will respond to, including:
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There is also an easter egg in the program: if the user types Crispin, the company name, into the box, three people, supposedly the creators, will pop up from behind a sofa and then pop back down again. If he/she types it three times, they will actually get up and walk past the camera.
If the user types in the name "Jeff Benjamin" an Executive Creative Director at CP+B,the chicken will hold up a "rock on hand". The chicken will also perform this same act when told "I love you" or you type in the name of some rock bands like "Metallica".
When told to perform sex acts, take off his mask, or do anything the Subservient Chicken considers offensive, the chicken walks up to the camera and shakes a scolding chicken finger in disappointment. However, when asked to show his male genitalia, the chicken walks up to the camera and shows his pelvis. When told to eat food from rival fast food chain McDonald's, he approaches the camera and places his finger down his throat, when told to eat Burger King he has a more positive response. If he is told to 'join PETA', he performs the same action as when a 'dizzy' command is typed in. The chicken responds to the command "smoke" by smoking, but when told to "smoke a bong" he waggles his finger scoldingly. If told to "choke" he attempts to strangle himself. When commanded to do anything with the word "me" in it, he approaches the camera and looks at the player, turning his head a few times. When told to take off his costume, the chicken shows that he is stuck inside his costume. When asked to "drink a Coke" he will walk to a bookcase behind the couch and drink a Coke.If the player tells him to "Go Vegan". he approaches the camera and give you a thumbs down.
If asked to play World of Warcraft, he will laugh. When "taco" or "random" is typed in he performs a dance with a lady that also appears behind the couch if the user types "crispin".
When asked "do you like hamburgers" he rubs his belly with delight.
When 23 skidoo is typed, the chicken slides on his knees toward the camera.
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