We talk about unrealistic ads on here all the time, but it's almost unthinkable how bad this one is.
Let me preface this by saying I've never been to a Buffalo Wild Wings. But I sort of assumed from the name that they were some sort of buffalo wing restaurant. And yet, in all the commercials I've seen of theirs - and during the NCAA tournament there have been more than a few - I cannot once recall seeing anyone eat, or even hold, an actual chicken wing.
In fact, the commercials that do air make Buffalo Wild Wings seem like the Trilateral Commission's private sports bar. A panel that enables them to fix the outcomes of sporting events? Referees in their back pocket? Truly this is a frightening vision of the New World Order.
These ads annoy me for a number of reasons, not least because "You have to be here" is such a ridiculous tagline. Why do I have to be there? It seems to be just like any other sports bar. And the idea of people in a sports bar not wanting to leave just kind of depresses me. How miserable is your life if you're all, "Oh, please let this game continue! When I'm inside the protective sanctuary of Buffalo Wild Wings, all my cares melt away! I simply can't face harsh reality again so soon!" If that sounds familiar, you've got bigger problems than whether or not this game goes into overtime.
In addition, this ad substantially misrepresents what it's like to be a fan of a sports team, as I think anyone who actually is (a group which apparently does not include anyone at Buffalo Wild Wings' ad agency, who seem to view sports as something they once heard of) would easily recognize. I mean, let's talk about what exactly is happening in the basketball game being watched in this ad:
1. New York and Boston are playing.
2. New York has just tied the game at 102 on a dunk with less than six seconds to play.
3. The entire bar, including any number of people in Boston apparel, cheers this result.
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?????
I don't care how great a time you're having at Buffalo Wild Wings, eating chicken wings (I assume) and drinking probably shitty beer. If you are a real sports fan, you want your team to win. A situation in which they somehow give up a wide-open, game-tying dunk with six seconds left is not something to be applauded. Further applauding when your team is going to win the game but is unable to do so because the player is blinded by a camera flash is complete lunacy.
But who cares if your team wins, right? You're just a fan of, you know, watching sports. In a general sense. It's not whether you win or lose, it's whether you get to sit in a Buffalo Wild Wings for an additional 15 minutes. Because you just have to be there.
4 comments:
i have to agree, the whole cheering for the tie thing doesn't make sense. and these ads are ridiculous
but you're ignoring the main point.
it's not just a wing place
It's an Experience
Well... the commercials suck, but the food at Buffalo Wild Wings (commonly called BW3's and/or B-dubs) is great. I love their wings! What's strange, though, is they advertise a TON in cities in which they have no locations...
That actually seems to a fairly common tactic by brands looking to expand. Sonic advertised in Chicago for years and they've only just opened a few in the suburbs in the past year or so, and I believe they advertised in the NYC market when the closest one was in Virginia. But part of the purpose is to interest potential franchisees and also to drive up demand - if enough people in the city realize they don't have a Sonic or BWWs and start thinking they should, the eventual opening is going to be a bigger hit than if they didn't start pitching until they were about to open.
The hideous 'wilhelm scream' made by the tiger mascot is enough to keep me out of this fkng place forever.
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