Last July, Chick-Fil-A ended its relationship with The Richards Group after 22 years, handing lead duties to McCann New York while working with Erich & Kallman, the agency launched some two months prior by industry veterans Eric Kallman and Steve Erich on project-based work.
Erich & Kallman launched a spot promoting the chain’s Egg White Grill breakfast sandwich at the time and now McCann New York has launched their first campaign for the brand.
Unsurprisingly, the brand’s cows (or “cowz”) haven’t gone anywhere, and now they appear to have discovered VR. A teaser spot shows the cows frolicking through a field, with VR headsets strapped to their bovine heads.
In “Delivery” the cows show up in random situations to deliver VR headsets to people as they wake up in the morning, shower, brush their teeth and otherwise go about their day. “Reality” employs a split-screen to show how ridiculous people look while experiencing various cow-related VR experiences which invariably see the brand’s mascots delivering their “Eat Mor Chikin” message. The spots direct viewers to CowzVR.com, which presumably will provide actual branded VR experiences when it launches on February 12.
The effort isn’t a great departure from The Richards Group’s work for the brand, continuing the humorous approach centered around the mascots created by that agency, something that will likely please The Richards Group. In a statement from The Richards Group founder Stan Richards announcing the end of its relationship with Chick-Fil-A, he wrote, “The cows are core to the brand’s success and certainly we are protective of them — we think we know them pretty well having given birth to and nurtured their unique personalities for more than two decades. We hope the cows live on and continue to thrive with a new family.”