Dive Brief:
- Jack in the Box has teamed with entertainer T-Pain for a limited-edition Munchie Meal that is being promoted across Fortnite and Amazon-owned livestreaming platform Twitch, per details shared with Marketing Dive.
- A custom “Jack Zone Wars” Fortnite map shrinks players as they battle under the gaze of a giant T-Pain and Jack Box, the chain’s mascot. Consumers can join a June 26 Twitch livestream to follow T-Pain and his team — Team Pain — as they battle.
- The campaign will be promoted across TV, digital, social media and radio. The tie-up coincides with T-Pain’s 20th anniversary tour and is part of Jack in the Box’s “So Munch More” platform launched earlier this year.
Dive Insight:
Jack in the Box is attempting to push its Munchie Meal, its answer to late-night cravings, further into culture through its partnership with T-Pain. About a third of the chain’s late-night audience and T-Pain’s fans identify as gamers, per data cited in release details. With the tie-up, the brand aims to connect with new and existing Jack in the Box fans by creating an authentic bond and highlighting the brand’s shared attributes with the entertainer.
“What interested us even more than T-Pain’s singing – and he’s a great singer and performer – was his pure, unadulterated love for gaming,” said Jeff O’Keefe, creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day, the agency leading the campaign, in a statement. “The joy he expresses as he games and trash talks with other gamers aligns perfectly with Jack’s Munchie Meal and the late-night revelry it was always meant to accompany.”
As part of the effort, the brand created a custom map, “Jack Zone Wars,” within the popular gaming platform Fortnite. Set on T-Pain’s oversized gamer’s desk, the map shrinks players as they battle under the gaze of Jack Box and T-Pain, while turning monitors, controllers and Jack’s Tater-Melts into terrain. Power-ups are pulled from the T-Pain Munchie Meal, and those who order the meal through the Jack app can unlock an exclusive offer to deal more damage in the game and unlock weapons to help them beat the competition.
Consumers will be able to join the “Jack Zone Wars” map battle on a June 26 Twitch livestream to watch Team Pain, which includes T-Pain and three gaming streamers. Gameplay will follow a “Last Man Standing Match Up” and those that defeat the celebrity will earn a free Munchie Meal. The livestream will also be held in T-Pain’s home in Atlanta, where Jack Box will be onsite.
Two commercials promote the effort and leverage the concept of a “munch slip,” where those craving the chain’s food mistakenly say “munch” instead of “much” and make Jack Box appear. In the first spot, “Magic Word,” T-Pain tests the concept in the studio, on the red carpet and eventually in the shower, to which the mascot replies, “I’m not going in there.” A second spot, “Disses,” depicts T-Pain and Jack Box playing a game against each other, seemingly in different rooms. As the munch-themed trash talk increases, it is revealed they are actually in the same space, just separated by a false wall.
The T-Pain campaign is led by the chain’s creative agency of record, TBWA\Chiat\Day LA, in partnership with Zoned and Hero Collective.
The overall concept continues Jack in the Box’s “So Munch More” creative platform, which was introduced earlier this year. Inspired by the chain’s distinctive menu and its positioning as a home for late-night cravings, the platform depicted people unconsciously saying the word “munch” rather than “much.” The slip-up caused the brand’s mascot, Jack Box, to appear with the menu item they were craving.
The brand extended that concept by tapping influencers and having Jack Box appear in other cultural touchpoints when the word “munch” was uttered. In one instance, the mascot made an appearance during an episode of First We Feast’s “Hot Ones Versus” YouTube show, featuring rapper Doechii. The brand has also partnered with bilingual digital media outlet Mitú and had a host-read ad on the popular podcast “Call Her Daddy.”
