EDMONTON – For Calvin Klein, a picture of a woman’s unclothed back might seem a little passŽ to pitch to his cologne or jeans.
But after years of using pictures of steaks with accompanying recipes or featuring well-clothed Olympic athletes, using nudity represents a major shift in advertising philosophy for the Beef Information Centre.
The centre’s $400,000 unclad pitch was shown to cattle producers at the Alberta Cattle Commission’s annual convention on
Dec. 6.
But rather than red faces, the bold ad drew the grudging respect of delegates who see the spot as the latest thrust in their campaign to promote beef as a part of a healthy diet.
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Carolyn McDonell, the centre’s executive manager, said Toronto advertising giant Saatchi and Saatchi developed the advertisement in order to get the attention of the centre’s target audience, women aged 18 and older.
Lean is the message
“In order to talk about health, we decided we had to be as provocative as possible in order for our message to be heard with limited resources,” said McDonell. “Our goal was to get across the message that beef is lean.”
After the full-page ad ran in last month’s issues of Chatelaine, Flare and Modern Woman as well as three French magazines, the centre received more than 900 responses for copies of its A Matter of Fat brochure and just five complaints.
For Mabel Hamilton, who chairs the centre’s board, said producers are more concerned about the ad’s ability to sell their product rather than tweaking conservative moral sensibilities.
“The ads weren’t meant for the producers. It’s for the cosmopolitan urbanite who is inundated with all sorts of media,” said Hamilton, a purebred Angus breeder from Innisfail.
While she hails from “the buckle on Alberta’s Bible belt,” Hamilton said cattle producers needed to catch the eye of readers.
“An ad with a picture of a roast beef dinner with a recipe at the bottom isn’t going to get read,” she said.
Although treading into a genre with ads featuring slender models such as Kate Moss, McDonell said the centre wanted to create a slightly different impression.
“We were very careful about the image we portrayed. We didn’t want (the model) very skinny because we didn’t want to be seen it as promoting anorexic eating,” she said.
The sultrier approach in print advertising didn’t bother Nels Nixdorff, a new commission delegate.
“We have got to make our case in the marketplace,” said Nixdorff, who runs 400 cows about 20 kilometres east of Airdrie.
The centre also changed horses in its new $3 million television campaign.
“Our whole advertising strategy changed this year of the increased supply of beef,” McDonell said. “Prior to this year, our whole philosophy was changing consumer attitudes towards beef. The ads emphasized beef was good for you. That had been the focus of our advertising for several years. We changed the strategy to sell more beef.”
Rather than health, the centre wanted to stress taste.
“Our research with consumers told us when they have an appetite for beef, nothing else will do,” she said.
Two 30-second commercials, featuring the slogan “Nothing Else is Beef” will run for 15 weeks in 13 urban markets. Those ads were also screened by cattle producers at the commission’s convention. The first spot, which has already been broadcast, features a couple barbecuing steaks in their backyard. The aroma attracts several people in the neighborhood. At the end of the commercial, a cruise ship pulls into the yard.
Aroma attracts company
The second ad which will air early next year, features a family serving roast beef faced with a similar rush of improbable guests attracted by the dinner’s scent.
Although the centre discontinued the use of athletes in its advertising, it will continue its affiliation with the Olympics through a new cookbook produced with Canadian Living magazine.
Along with beef recipes, the book will feature past and present Canadian medal winners, from decathlete Dave Steen to McDonell’s personal favorite, figure skater Barbara Ann Scott.
“I used to have a Barbara Ann Scott doll when I was younger,” she said.
The centre couldn’t ignore the looming 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, McDonell said.
“With the Olympics in the United States, there’s a lot of hype,” she said. “Because they are in the eastern time zone, there’ll be huge audiences.”
