The One Show
The One Show is the world's most prestigious award show in advertising and design. For over 50 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry. The One Show has a rich legacy of honoring some of the most groundbreaking ideas, created by some of the most remarkable minds in creativity.
Category
Artist / Brand Collaboration
Annual ID
OS23_MS045M
About the Work
Arby’s is #16 in fast food sales in the U.S. McDonald’s is #1 globally. Compared to Arby’s, McDonald’s spends 10x more in media, promoting cult-following sandwiches like the Filet-O-Fish and McRib.
So when Arby’s, the master of meats, wanted to prove that their Spicy Fish and Country Style Rib sandwiches were superior alternatives to McDonald’s sad, square fish and restructured pork patties, they needed to generate awareness that would elevate beyond a traditional media buy.
Enter Grammy-nominated rapper Pusha T, known for his targeted, cut-throat diss tracks. Pusha had major beef with McDonald’s. He’d created the iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle for a one-time fee, but was never paid royalties. Contrarily, Pusha is a long-time Arby’s partner, co-creating the track “Burial” that has ended every Arby’s commercial for nearly a decade and for which he continues to be paid every airing.
Given this history, Pusha was the perfect partner to team up against McDonald’s, and Arby’s gave Pusha creative freedom to create two unique diss tracks pointing out McDonald’s shortcomings.
The result was two songs: Spicy Fish Diss and Rib Roast. Released in March and September of 2022, the tracks launched on Pusha’s T’s social channels and quickly amassed more than 8.1 billion earned impressions as fans dissected the lyrics and media outlets dove deep into the brand feuds. With coverage everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to The Tonight Show to Rolling Stone, the mass conversation welcomed new fans to the Arby’s brand and spiked sales for both sandwiches –a 17% increase in fish and 25% increase in smokehouse sandwiches.
Spotify’s The Ringer podcast called the partnership one of the “greatest accomplishments in corporate America in the last 200 years.” With such mass success, the Arby’s x Pusha T Diss Tracks have become a key case study for 1) how brands can authentically partner with talent, and 2) how challenger brands can dethrone their competition without exponential media dollars.
So when Arby’s, the master of meats, wanted to prove that their Spicy Fish and Country Style Rib sandwiches were superior alternatives to McDonald’s sad, square fish and restructured pork patties, they needed to generate awareness that would elevate beyond a traditional media buy.
Enter Grammy-nominated rapper Pusha T, known for his targeted, cut-throat diss tracks. Pusha had major beef with McDonald’s. He’d created the iconic “I’m Lovin’ It” jingle for a one-time fee, but was never paid royalties. Contrarily, Pusha is a long-time Arby’s partner, co-creating the track “Burial” that has ended every Arby’s commercial for nearly a decade and for which he continues to be paid every airing.
Given this history, Pusha was the perfect partner to team up against McDonald’s, and Arby’s gave Pusha creative freedom to create two unique diss tracks pointing out McDonald’s shortcomings.
The result was two songs: Spicy Fish Diss and Rib Roast. Released in March and September of 2022, the tracks launched on Pusha’s T’s social channels and quickly amassed more than 8.1 billion earned impressions as fans dissected the lyrics and media outlets dove deep into the brand feuds. With coverage everywhere from the Wall Street Journal to The Tonight Show to Rolling Stone, the mass conversation welcomed new fans to the Arby’s brand and spiked sales for both sandwiches –a 17% increase in fish and 25% increase in smokehouse sandwiches.
Spotify’s The Ringer podcast called the partnership one of the “greatest accomplishments in corporate America in the last 200 years.” With such mass success, the Arby’s x Pusha T Diss Tracks have become a key case study for 1) how brands can authentically partner with talent, and 2) how challenger brands can dethrone their competition without exponential media dollars.
2023 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
Fallon
PR / Marketing Agency
MSL Group
Production Company
Pxp
Art Director
Matt Terrell
Copywriter
Tanner Uselmann
Chief Creative Officer
Leslie Shaffer
Nikki Baker
Chief Marketing Officer
Patrick Schwing
Creative Director
Joe Johnson
Mike Behrends
Joanne Torres
Director
Collin Goodspeed
Editor
Jesse Thompson
Executive Creative Director
Marc Levy
Rick Utzinger
Executive Producer
Aldo Hertz
Amanda Tibbits
Producer
Kolter Ridge
Social Media Manager
Jimmy Beck
Account Director
Sam Tuttle
Account Executive
Madison Kolofske
Associate Creative Director
Kelsey O'Briant
Head of Production
Erin Simle
Pat Sidoti
Account Manager
Julia Frayne
Advertising & Integrated Marketing Communications
Emily Ciccone
Arby's President
Jim Taylor
Assistant Account Executive
Alice Zheng
CEO
Diana Littman
Rocky Novak
Director - Advertising, Merchandising & Social
Sarah Weeden
Director of Business Affairs
Brendan Lawrence
Director of Digital & Social
Greg Swan
Director of Software Engineering
Kla Haeck
Group Account Director
Chris Campbell
Manager, Advertising
Alex Pierce
Manager, Brand PR & Activation
Gabriela Allende
Manager, Paid Social
James Kiss
Managing Director, Consumer
Alina Diaz
Senior Account Executive
Cameron Leach
Mikaela Weiss
Senior Account Supervisor
Patrick Durkin
Senior Business Affairs Manager
Shannon Laylon
SENIOR PRODUCER
Patrick Gantert
Senior Production Designer / Retoucher
Eric Zarnoth
Senior Vice President
Alan Danzis
Patricia Hallock
Social Media Supervisor
Michael Nguyen
Social Strategist
Shauna Gajavada
Social Strategy Supervisor
Mara Keller
Vice President
Molly McFerran
VP Brand Strategy, Advertising & Menu
Deborah von Kutzleben
Related Awards
