A list of slogans from Friendly’s restaurants over the years:
1979–1982 “You’re in for a nice surprise.”
1985–1989 “There’s no place like home.”
2010–2013 “Oh, that looks good!”
2011–2012 “High 5, it’s Friendly’s!”
2012–2013 “Oh yeah!”
2013–2018 “Where ice cream makes the meal.”
Damn. That is not a good list.
It’s also filled with shockingly generic slogans that could apply to almost any restaurant (or tractor supply company) in the world.
They’re oddly and tragically counterintuitive, too.
“You’re in for a nice surprise.” Not exactly encouraging. Sounds more like:
“You thought this meal was going to suck, but really, it won’t. You’ll be surprised.”
“Oh, that looks good!” Again, not a confident declaration. More of a reversal of expectations:
“You think your cheeseburger will look like a greasy sponge, but no, it actually looks like a cheeseburger!”
“Oh yeah!”
They paid someone to come up with that slogan? I’m not even sure how you would include this slogan in ad copy.
“There’s no place like home.”
I hope the company didn’t hire an advertising agency to come up with a phrase that existed long before “The Wizard of Oz” made millions from it.
That pitch probably went something like:
“Yes, it’s a cliché. It may be one of the greatest clichés of all time, and I don’t mean great in a good way. But it worked for the girl with the red slippers, so maybe it will work for us, too.”
My wife, Elysha, might be a fan of “High 5, it’s Friendly’s!” because she’s been looking to bring back the high-five for years, but even that is questionable for a restaurant. Was it also paired with some odd high-5 by the serving staff when you entered the restaurant?
“Welcome to Friendly’s! Give me a high-5!”
It feels like it almost requires it, but it also would’ve been terrible.
No wonder the company had to be rescued from bankruptcy. Twice.
If I were to propose a slogan for Friendly’s today, my first pitch would include:
“The taste of growing up.”
Appeal to families, and specifically parents, who make these dining decisions.
Leverage the power of nostalgia.
Hint at generational renewal.
Remind people of the joy they felt as kids entering a Friendly’s restaurant, and encourage them to dip back into those nostalgic feelings and remember what it felt like to be a kid.
Steep your children in those very same feelings.
Carry forth tradition.
I’m not saying that this pitch is excellent or even my best, but as a first draft, it’s better than any that Friendly’s has used in the past.
Or even better, maybe no slogan at all. Instead, invest that precious slogan money into improving service time and updating the decor. Those changes, more than any half-ass slogan, would make all the difference for me.
