Rally's 'Cha-ching' ad boosts sales, heightens customer awareness

Nation's Restaurant News, Nov 18, 1991 by Milford Prewitt

Rally's |Cha-ching' ad boosts sales, heightens customer awareness

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Rally's is boasting that its current television commercial, "Cha-ching," is making its cash registers profusely echo the same sound.

"It's really taken off like wildfire," said Burt Sugarman, the normally reticent chairman and chief executive officer who has played his cards close to his chest since buying the company nearly two years ago. "I think we have the hottest commercial on television right now."

An image commercial that highlights Rally's speed of service and low prices, the spot not only has boosted Rally's sales and profits but also has won the company some advertising awards and, even better, generated free prime-time mentions on national news broadcasts and televised football games.

In Rally's New Orleans market, where "Cha-ching" has become a kind of rallying cry for the Saints football team, company officials said sales are up 22 percent, with similar trends in other markets.

The spot debuted July 30, at the beginning of the company's third quarter. It is one of three similarly themed television spots Rally's is airing as part of a corporate "refocusing effort" to make the drive-thru burger chain a stronger competitor. Part of that refocusing is a shrunken menu and a drive to open more stores in existing markets.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, Rally's reported that net income jumped 39 percent, to $1.9 million, on a 21-percent gain in revenues, to $25.3 million. Systemwide sales grew 22 percent, to $58.4 million, during the three months during which the commercial has been playing.

Surgarman said the sales gains generated by the commercial must be similar to the success that Wendy's enjoyed during its "Where's the beef?" campaign in the mid-1980s.

"You hope so much that you hit on a commercial that turns things around like |Where's the Beef?'" he said. "But no one could ever dream that we'd hit on something that would be so absolutely terrific for us."

The "Cha-ching" commercial spoofs the bloated menu board and high price points of an unnamed drive-thru burger competitor.

The commercial features a teen-age order-taker wearing an operator's phone headset and uniform in the kitchen of a competing unit. A family of four pulls alongside the speaker phone and is overwhelmed by the number of items on the giant menu board outside.

Each time the father orders, the exuberant teen-ager yells "Cha-ching" and gleefully uses karatelike punches and kicks to charge the amount on the cash register, ultimately hitting $62.75.

An unseen narrator then urges consumers to try Rally's for everyday low prices and good service "when you don't have the time for fast food."

The commercial won an Excellence in Advertising on Television (EAT) award at the Multi-Unit Food Service Operators conference in Atlanta in October.

Rally's and the undecipherable meaning of "Cha-ching" were featured in a news segment by CBS news anchor Connie Chung just two weeks ago on a national broadcast.

But the biggest free plug for Rally's came during the New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears football game earlier this season when football commentators Pat Summerall and John Madden mused over the meaning of "Cha-ching" and how it has captivated the powerhouse Saints and their fans.

As cameras panned the Saint's Superdome stadium during the game, several fans had banners with "Cha-ching" written on them.

The expression has also cropped up in Detroit and other cities, including those without football teams.

Neither Rally's nor the advertising writers who conceived "Cha-ching" can say why the phrase caught on or what it means. Although it is hard to define, Rally's executives said people are saying "Cha-ching" and pumping their arms as a new kind of "high-five" salute upon viewing a feat of excellence.

Despite the media's fascination with the sound, Bruce Ley, vice president of marketing, stressed that Rally's was using "Cha-ching" long before the football season began. As a result, the company believes it is basking in the glow of a cultural phenomenon destined to last long after the football season is over and likely to benefit Rally's for some time.

"This is just icing on the cake," said Ed McCabe, an advertising executive whose company created "Cha-ching." "This is part of a much broader campaign, and it is going to last much longer than football. After all, they are saying it in places where there are no football teams."

Wayne Albritton, Rally's president and chief operating officer, said franchisees in towns without major football teams are reporting surges in traffic as a result of the commercial.

Sugarman said the success of "Cha-ching" will usher in a new era of television advertising for Rally's as the company attempts to advertise in nearly all of the 37 markets where its unit counts can efficiently cover the costs.

"We want to be on television in a big way," Sugarman said, "and Cha-ching is really helping us to do that.

"We're going to be very media driven. Our only question these days is, How many restaurants does it take to be media efficient in our markets?"