The takeout giant Wingstop was well-positioned to thrive during the “dine-at-home” phase of the pandemic. But in late 2020, things took a turn when a global chicken wing shortage threatened the company’s namesake product.
Wingstop responded by leaning on its newest menu item—chicken thighs. But customers were bound to notice the glaring omission in their lineup. The restaurant was at risk of looking like the proverbial headless chicken.
Luckily, an award-winning solution was waiting in the hopper, and it was hatched by a “beaky” team at Chicago-based Leo Burnett that included Ben Doessel ’10, a Redbird who earned his bachelor’s in marketing from the College of Business.
“Before the shortage happened, Wingstop was exploring options to launch their new chicken thighs in an impactful and cost-effective way,” said Doessel, who served as an associate creative director on the project. “The idea we had was to make a virtual restaurant called ‘Thighstop’ to run alongside of Wingstop and just crudely tape over all their existing wing ads to make them thigh ads.”
The shortage necessitated an immediate rollout of the campaign, and the new ads ran concurrently with media coverage of the global “wing problem.”
“Everyone was talking about this wing shortage, from news to late night hosts,” Doessel said. “So, it got Wingstop a lot of positive coverage during that time because it was kind of a cheeky solution to a problem that was already gaining attention.”
In short, Wingstop contributed to the chorus of laughter instead of becoming the object of it.
A night on the red carpet
Doessel and his colleagues were rewarded for their ingenuity in 2022.
Wingstop and Leo Burnett took home the Grand Prix for Creative Commerce at Cannes Lions. The honor is recognized as the top prize in advertising and is awarded shortly after the dust settles from the Cannes Film Festival in France.
“For people in advertising, it’s the most exciting week of the year, featuring the best creative work from all over the world,” Doessel said.
This wasn’t the first time Doessel worked with Wingstop. He was part of the Leo Burnett team that earned their business with the “Where flavor gets its wings” pitch. Along with TV, radio, and internet ads, the campaign featured “wearable billboards” where fans received Wingstop T-shirts in exchange for posting about the product on different social media platforms, particularly Instagram.
“It was a fun, nontraditional, and effective way to spend a brand’s billboard budget,” Doessel said.
The COB difference
Coming up with creative solutions is what Doessel loves about the advertising game. His favorite moments as a kid were spent drawing, creating stories, and writing music, sometimes solo, sometimes with friends.
“I love that side of my brain. So, I just really wanted to figure out how to make money using it,” he said. “Because, in the end, no matter what I was doing, I just always wanted to have fun.”
Doessel calls marketing and advertising a cheat code for artists of all kinds to earn a good living. While much of a copywriter’s job involves “keeping-the-lights-on” tasks such as writing emails and banner ads, there are many opportunities to stretch creative muscles and connect with large audiences.
When he started on his bachelor’s in marketing in the College of Business, his ultimate goal was to write a side-splitting Super Bowl ad. While the idea still appeals, he came to realize the difference between having a comprehensive understanding of marketing and working in the advertising industry.
“Becoming business-minded is an underrated trait in this industry. A lot of people are just creative, but they don’t think like a businessperson,” Doessel said. “The College of Business gave that to me. I gained a core business knowledge from people who are at the top of their field, including chief marketing officers who had helped run organizations. I like to think that gave me an advantage.”
Among the hard lessons he still uses to guide his work is a former professor’s motto, “Keep it simple, stupid!” He earned his only “F” as a student for a convoluted marketing campaign project he put together.
“He told me, ‘I don’t get this,’ and he failed me for good reason,” Doessel said. “Too often in advertising, people are overcomplicating things. The truth is that the average consumer isn’t going to think too hard about whatever you’re trying to tell them.”
“There were things built up during my student career that poured into my professional career. Getting better each day is a slow burn. But if you keep going at it, you’ll be successful, and you’ll get a big hit.”
Ben Doessel
Despite the early stumble, Doessel said his marketing courses were fun and integral to his success. He also credits his Redbird professors for helping him develop solid habits.
“There were things built up during my student career that poured into my professional career,” he said. “Getting better each day is a slow burn. But if you keep going at it, you’ll be successful, and you’ll get a big hit.”
Winning clients
A solid track record of success lends credibility to ad agencies and their employees, but it doesn’t always remove clients’ trepidation for handing over multi-million dollar budgets.
“Sometimes it’s easy for clients to just look at you like you’re some dreamer with your head in the clouds who wants to shoot a commercial and spend all their money,” he said. “But if you get the chance to work with leaders and clients who are brave, who trust you, and are willing to take chances, that’s when it can get really fun.”
Wingstop was among the clients who were willing to take such a leap of faith. Their partnership also spurred one of the most unique experiences of Doessel’s career, getting to shoot a commercial with the brand’s biggest franchisee, rapper Rick Ross.
“We flew to his mansion in Atlanta and spent the entire day shooting a commercial in his driveway,” Doessel said. “It was amazing being on set with a cultural icon.”
When it comes to developing ideas for companies and personas, Doessel has a bevy of brainstorming strategies. Yet, the impetus for the top campaigns aren’t usually created while burning the midnight oil.
“So far, our most successful ideas have started as jokes, just a couple of us joking around,” he said. “For Wingstop we said, ‘Hey, what if we just tape over all the signs and add the word thighs?’ That jokey thing ended up being what the general public actually appreciated.”
The team decided the idea had legs because it inoffensively contrasted the run of somber and coddling tones dominating the advertising landscape in late 2020 and 2021. They agreed Wingstop was a good candidate to break the trend while staying true to the chicken joint’s brand of comfort food, convenience, and a bit of humor.
Jumping off point
Doessel and a colleague made a decision to bet on themselves this past July. They left the security of Leo Burnett to join Highdive, a smaller, independent ad agency. A company that’s scoring the projects the Redbird dreamed of during his undergraduate days.
“They’ve created the No. 1 ranked Super Bowl commercial the last three years in a row,” he said.
While Doessel is all in at his new agency, he never wants to grow stagnant in his approach to the field. Whether that means an eventual return to a large agency or staying independent, one thing’s for sure … he’s no chicken.
