If you had $3 Mil, would you buy a Superbowl ad?

It was a great offer, no doubt. But looking at this, I think I'd pick Papa Johns.

It's a great strategy until you realize that 90% of your employees are potheads.

I believe they've got "a tiger by the tail" with this idea.

I don't watch TV so I don't know what's happening there. News channels and such. Local or national.

So far the results on Google and Twitter are rather modest. See for yourself. Search for: Papa John's Super Bowl

I suspect if we follow the company's progress, it will build. Not necessarily brand awareness, but offer awareness. It's a bold offer.

At the end of the day, it would be very useful to have a national list segregated by zip code of all the mobile numbers. The local Papa John's franchisees will have so much fun with making offers to this list. Assuming they get access. But maybe they won't. Corporate can get weird like that, once they realize the asset they've got.

Imagine a Papa John's iPhone app. A link to download and you're good to go.

What I like is the publicity angle for all sorts applications. Local, regional and national.

Let's say you're a local restaurant and the local high school team is playing their rival. Who will win and by how much? Sign-up and get a free meal or desert if the criteria is met.

Let's say you're a local lawn maintenance company. Again, who will win and by how much? Imagine the use of that mobile phone # list!

Will Sarah Palin run for office? Absolutely. But who will be her running mate? If you guess correctly... Fox News has a gift for you.

Applications galore. Infinite variety and opportunity. Smooth transition to a more personal, more targeted loyalty and membership programs.

If they do this right, everybody will run with this idea. Like every fast food restaurant swiped McDonald's "Value Meal" strategy.

- Rick Duris

PS: If I were a franshisee, I'd piggyback on this in a big way with local PR. Because whatever numbers they collect correspond directly to business for me. And I'd be fulfilling anyway if I "lose".

I didn't say brand advertising was "stupid" at all. Your point though is well taken.

If you read the article, it said Papa John's is a sponsor for the NFL. Clearly, a very expensive marketing proposition. And if you visit their website, you'll notice they are leveraging it.

I only posted because I admire their strategy for leveraging the Superbowl. And I think their promotion will go viral and I also think it has application beyond just the Superbowl.

As you may know, creating a viral, profitable marketing campaign is very hard to do. Unreliably consistent. Although it's still anyone's guess, I think they've done it. And they've done it in a way everyone can take advantage. Adapt and adopt.

- Rick Duris

PS: I was talking with a friend who's eyeing an opportunity to takeover ownership of a local pizza place. Independent.

His monthly "nut" would be about $4,000. You have to sell a 400 pizzas every month at $10/each just to breakeven. Do the math on a daily basis, and the first 13 pizzas you make everyday, pays the overhead.

I'm thinking to myself "That's a lot of pizzas."

For Papa John's to be able to do that nationwide, clearly they are doing something right.

There are insurance companies that write policies to cover promotions like this. Good to know if you ever decide to try one.

Here's the brilliance in what you just said, Dave:

Their advertising strategy did not take root until Berkshire Hathaway (Warren Buffet/Charlie Munger) invested massively in them.

They primed the pump. There is a definitive strategy behind Geico's success. No doubt. (And they're replicating it across industries.)

- Rick Duris

PS: If numbers don't intimidate you, some of the best personal writing is Warren Buffet's letters to shareholders:

Shareholder Letters

It's brilliant work. Swipe file worthy. Especially Warren's mea culpa when things weren't going so good for the company.

If I had three million, I'd do a targeted direct mailing...

or...go to the dollar store and buy three million of something...

I suspect he HAS a "copywriter". Almost all of that kind of corporate stuff is ghostwritten, and approved by the signatory before it goes 'live'.

(I say "almost all", because there may be someone out there who writes their own stuff, but no names come to mind)

P.S. Check out 2008. Buffet spends NO time waffling at the beginning. He jumps right in with a full-court press of the problem, moves briskly to globalize the pain, and segues smoothly into, "here's how we're going to make it all better for you".

Meh. Me, I don't care. Good writing is good writing. And that's some good writing.

Even if Buffet isn't penning his own stuff, at least he's smart enough to recognize good copy. And get out of his copywriter's way.

The perfect client.