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Charlie the animated charcoal briquette has kind eyes and purposeful energy and, despite his diminutive stature, he’s the magnetic star of a new campaign from The Habit Burger Grill.
In the span of a 45-second spot, it’s easy to get attached to the itty bitty anthropomorphic character with a big heart. But maybe that’s not the best idea. Major spoiler: Charlie is a crispy critter by the end of the ad, having dramatically forfeited his life to cook the restaurant’s signature grilled burgers.
Eat up?
Creatives at Barrett Hofherr, in their first work as agency of record for the restaurant, developed Charlie with the sole intention of killing him off—but in a funny way, and to make a point.
“Lots of brands have mascots, but we wanted to create the only one who dies every time you see him,” Todd Eisner, the agency’s executive creative director, told ADWEEK, noting that Charlie’s role “is to sacrifice himself for the greater good in order to make delicious burgers.”
Brand execs got the fiery-death-as-destiny joke immediately when they heard it at the first pitch meeting, according to Jack Hinchliffe, CMO at The Habit and a veteran of parent company Yum! Brands.
“I don’t recall ever laughing so much during a creative presentation before,” Hinchliffe told ADWEEK. “The creativity they brought to the table was off the charts.”
And so, brave and selfless Charlie has become the first mascot in the restaurant’s 55-year history, which Hinchliffe thinks is a key distinction in “a competitive environment and noisy category.”
“Brand characters and mascots can have incredible power in advertising,” Hinchliffe said. “Used appropriately and consistently over time, they can outperform most other branding assets in driving engagement, attribution and recall.”
The Habit, with its made-to-order “better burger” positioning, dukes it out with a wide range of fast food and fast casual rivals.
Charred new chapter
The campaign—featuring the new tagline, “Better By Char”—aims to introduce The Habit to a broader audience and “marks a new chapter for us,” according to Hinchliffe.
