Look who’s again for spooky season, combining nostalgia with AI
Jack Box returns for revenge this Halloween, and he’s doing it ’80s arcade fashion. Scared but?
Dubbed “DealQuest,” the in-app sport from Jack within the Box is all about unlocking codes for seasonal Monster Munchie Meals. Already a stone freak in sync with spooky season, Jack’s maybe weirder, if doable, in 8-bit kind.
BTW, the meals bites. In the sport, it BITES BACK. What else might I imply? (Kidding, after all. Pass the Monster Tacos!)
“Our target, the unruly ones, love Halloween. These are outspoken, rebellious folks who make Halloween their biggest late-night celebration of the year,” Bert Marissen, GCD at TBWA/Chiat/Day L.A., which devised the marketing campaign, tells Muse.
“It’s also a key sales moment for QSRs. But Jack doesn’t just show up for the numbers. As the late-night challenger brand, we make Halloween bigger, louder and unapologetically our own, with bespoke LTOs and immersive post-apocalyptic games,” he says.
As for taking this route vs. making conventional adverts, “Gamifying a customer experience drives a higher likelyhood of purchase,” explains company connections director Danela Jimenez. “The deeper they play, the better the rewards, making the journey itself as valuable as the deal.”
While there’s clearly choose-your-adventure nostalgia afoot—assume Oregon Trail—the staff additionally strove to “bring new life into it,” says inventive director Jake Roberts. “Infusing these styles with AI allows everyone to create their completely unique story with evolving graphics.”
So, it’s a cross-generational play with a watch on youthful clients. That appears sensible, given the chain’s rough patch of late, with sliding same-store gross sales.
“We took inspiration for the storylines from some of the easiest games to pick up and play like Scoops,” provides Dylan Cimo, additionally an company CD. “We really wanted the experience to be super simple. Something anyone could jump into without button mashing.”
Oh, Jack will make you need to mash buttons. That face!