Don't tell fast-food marketer Dairy Queen that advertising doesn't work. A recent spot for the chain's Caramel Chip CheeseQuake Blizzard helped boost sales at stores open at least a year--a measure of
retail success known as same-store sales--by 4% year-to-date, the company says. The ad has been discontinued, partly because of the creative, which showed a passenger entering an airline cabin with a
beverage and carry-on luggage in hand. Due to the latest round of air travel security restrictions, such a move would not be permitted. But DQ says the spot helped boost Blizzard sales this summer,
which is the peak selling season for the chain and its Blizzard drink product. The Blizzard drinks are the chain's top sellers--with annual sales of $750 million, a significant portion of the
company's $3 billion in yearly sales. Ads this summer promoted Caramel Chip CheeseQuake Blizzard and the Monster Cookie Blizzard. "For both of the ads, we spent a lot of time coming up with ideas that
connect simple truths about customer lives," says Michael Keller, DQ's chief brand manager. The company and its ad agency, Grey Worldwide, develop 15 to 20 ads annually.
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