Culver’s touts quality in new ads

Culver’s will debut new television commercials Monday to advertise its longtime Flavor of the Day frozen custard program for the first time.

The commercial, starring brand founder and chief executive Craig Culver and Ted Galloway of Classic Mix Partners LLC, the chain’s frozen custard supplier, is an extension of Culver’s “Welcome to Delicious” branding campaign. Previous spots have shown Culver discussing the sourcing of the brand’s beef, dairy and fish with suppliers.

Culver and Galloway draw comparisons in the commercial between Culver’s frozen custard and regular ice cream.

“People are amazed at how rich and luscious fresh frozen custard is compared to ice cream,” Culver said in a statement. “When people think of Culver’s, they think of Flavor of the Day. We’ve offered it from the start.”

At each Culver’s restaurant, a Flavor of the Day is offered from the 80 different flavors the brand rotates in.

Other restaurant chains have recently run commercials featuring their suppliers, including McDonald’s and Domino’s Pizza, as well as Chipotle Mexican Grill with its “Food with Integrity” campaign. To help the “Welcome to Delicious” spots for custard stand out, Culver’s will supplement the campaign with radio, print, in-store and social-media advertising.

The chain also will run its Dessert’d Island Sweepstakes through June 29. Customers will receive a ticket containing a unique promotion code with every purchase of a Flavor of the Day frozen custard item. They can enter that code at Culver’s Facebook page to enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a seven-night vacation for four to Captiva Island, Fla.

“[The contest] is a continuation of our social-media outreach,” vice president of marketing David Stidham said in an email to Nation’s Restaurant News. “We will be using social media and digital to not only create awareness of our Flavor of the Day but also to always drive traffic to our restaurants.”

Culver’s never has advertised the Flavor of the Day program on broadcast platforms until now, Stidham said, though the chain’s iPhone and Android mobile apps let consumers get a five-day flavor forecast for their local Culver’s, as well as set alerts for when favorite flavors become available.

The mobile app has been downloaded more than 132,000 times to date, Stidham said.

Prairie du Sac, Wis.-based Culver’s operates three restaurants and franchises another 447 locations in 19 states. Culver founded the chain with his wife and parents in 1984.

Contact Mark Brandau at [email protected].
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