The Shoney’s near me is closing forever. As I watch the tear-down, it brought back the childhood memories of the Big Boy brand that Shoney’s used after they bought Bob’s Big Boy restaurants. Yes, there was a restaurant chain, a very successful chain, that used a slightly pudgy mascot called “Big Boy” to market it’s mega-calorie burgers… among other things.
You’ve gotta love the marketer that came up with the Big Boy idea. Not only were they not going to try to make their food look healthy, they got right in our face using a “Big” boy to promote it.
But, it’s probably been over 40 years since I’ve seen a Big Boy statue standing outside of a Shoney’s restaurant, and I still can feel my taste buds watering for an All-Star breakfast. That smiling face holding an over-sized double-cheeseburger, with those red-checkered overalls. Maybe a Big Boy makeover with him on a Intermittent Fasting, Keto diet and a complete image makeover would have saved Shoney’s. Who knows?
A marketing blog. 