Arby's New Hook for Millennials: 'We Have the Meats'

Arby's believes its new tagline, "We have the meats" (plural), will make it popular amongst that finicky millennial crowd. To go with the new slogan, the chain has revamped its website to feature all of the meats served by its "executive chef." The website emphasizes that the chain serves "at least eight different meats," but a closer look at the offerings reveals that of the eight, at least four are simply different variations on beef products. (The result just reads like a typical grocery store deli's menu.)

Arby's has also added a line of sandwiches called Mega Meat Stacks that aren't exactly mega or all that stacked with meat. The Reuben Super Stack features a couple of slices of corned beef and some roast turkey, the Triple Stack has "three meats, two veggies, and a grain" — which Arby's writes is "almost like eating an entire farm" — and the Club Stack features bacon, three ounces of ham, and three ounces of turkey. (Contrary to its mega-sounding name, six ounces of meat is really only twice a typical serving size.) According to Nation's Restaurant News, Arby's has also launched a series of video spots to go along with slogan makeover. They feature "beefy actor" Ving Rhames attempting to be humorous by saying things like, "Did the meats scare you? Are you intimidated by their might?"

Arby's CMO Rob Lynch tells Ad Age that this slogan revamp is part of an effort to stay young and relevant: "Arby's has the second-oldest customer base in the QSR [quick service restaurant] industry and we didn't want Arby's to grow old with that customer base." In recent months, Arby's has also pulled stunts like remodeling its restaurants to achieve "deli-inspired deliciousness" and airing a 13-hour commercial of a brisket smoking to promote its Smokehouse Brisket Sandwich.

· We Have the Meats [Official Site]
· 'Meat' Arby's New Marketing Campaign [NRN]
· Arby's Drops 'Slicing up Freshness' Tagline [Ad Age]
· All TK Coverage on Eater [-E-]