ATLANTA — The Chick-fil-A "Eat Mor Chikin" cows, who have been entertaining consumers with renegade antics to push their pro-chicken messages for the past 14 years, have been recognized with a Silver Effie award in the "Sustained Success" category for creativity and effectiveness in advertising.
Executives from Chick-fil-A and their Dallas-based advertising agency, The Richards Group, were on-hand for ceremonies in New York to receive the award June 3.
Chick-fil-A first introduced the Cow campaign in 1995 as a three-dimensional billboard concept depicting a black-and-white cow sitting atop the back of another cow painting the words "Eat Mor Chikin."
In addition to clever roadside billboards, the "Eat Mor Chikin" cows are the focal point of Chick-fil-A's in-store point-of-purchase materials, promotions, radio and TV advertising, and clothing and merchandise sales.
This is the second Effie award the "Eat Mor Chikin" cow campaign has received. The campaign also was recognized in 1998 with a silver Effie for "creativity and effectiveness" in the fast food/restaurant category.
Further recognition
In addition to receiving the Effie, the cow campaign has been recognized for excellence by other organizations in the advertising community.
In 2007, the Chick-fil-A "Eat Mor Chikin" cows were recognized as one of America's most popular advertising icons in a public vote sponsored by Advertising Week and became the newest members of New York's Madison Avenue Advertising Walk of Fame. A permanent banner to recognize this achievement now hangs on Madison Avenue in New York City.
The cows also were inducted into The Outdoor Advertising Association of America's (OAAA) OBIE Hall of Fame. OAAA presents the award annually to brands that have displayed outstanding outdoor creative work over an extended period of time. In 1997, the "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign took home a Silver Lion at the Cannes Advertising Festival, and in 1996 the campaign earned the OBIE award for outdoor advertising.
On July 10, 2009, Chick-fil-A will once again honor the "Eat Mor Chikin" cows during the chain's fifth annual Cow Appreciation Day celebration, an unofficial, yet nationally recognized holiday. As part of the promotion, anyone who visits any of the chain's restaurants dressed as a cow on Cow Appreciation Day will receive a free Chick-fil-A Meal.
