A Beautiful Mess-terpiece

Whataburger® Hits All the Right Notes with the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich in “A Beautiful Mess-terpiece” Campaign.

Agency of record McGarrah Jessee’s surreal musical ode highlights the sandwich’s unique flavors that make your taste buds sing

Whataburger, the rapidly growing, beloved burger icon, announces the return of the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich, a culinary delight with three crispy chickenstrips smothered in Whataburger’s signature Buffalo Sauce and Buttermilk Ranch and topped with two slices of Monterey Jack Cheese on a five-inch toasted bun. The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich is now available at all Whataburger locations for a limited time.

For the reintroduction of this fan favorite LTO, Whataburger’s agency of record, McGarrah Jessee (McJ), has launched “A Beautiful Mess-terpiece” – a new creative campaign that reflects the reverence Whataburger fans hold for the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich. McJ created a surreal musical symphony featuring the unique sounds of each of the sandwich ingredients reverberating across the hillside. These sounds come together beautifully, resulting in a playful, fun, and rhapsodic ode to the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich.

The integrated campaign features a 30-second TV spot directed by Guy de la Palme and produced by Imposter, and will run across broadcast TV, radio, digital and social media.

“The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich is back by popular demand,” says Whataburger Chief Marketing Officer Scott Hudler. “Because the sandwich has such an iconic following, it deserved advertising that paid homage to its unique flavor profile. I tip my Buffalo Ranch hat to the teams who made this happen.”

“Both the internal Whataburger marketing team and our agency of record McJ have this ridiculously creative and synergistic spirit that continues to produce breakthrough spots for our brand,” says Whataburger Vice President of Marketing and Communication Donna Tuttle. “The Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip ‘musical’ is a whimsical personification of each glorious ingredient that will bring both a smile to your face and immediate hunger to your belly.”

Whataburger is also releasing a limited edition Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich Pillow, available in the official Whataburger online store. This pillow features a unique design inspired by the mouthwatering flavors of the fan-favorite sandwich. Add some personality to your bedding with this quirky and playful pillow.

“Fans love the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich and celebrate every time it's released, so it felt like the respectful thing to do to create a campaign that joins in that celebration. And we did it in a way that’s right for Whataburger, striking a balance between utmost respect for the food and joyful irreverence of the brand. Creating campaigns as unique as Whataburger's products in a way that rewards the audience is a fun challenge that we embrace with each limited release,” said Cam Miller, Creative Director, McGarrah Jessee.

“For sound design, we wanted to create an earworm, but not a jingle. Each part is sung almost like a call from the wild. The base of the sandwich are our baritones, the sauces compliment each other in a call and response, and oh yeah, there’s cheese, too. It was important that our voiceover felt like a narrator for this story – he’s the one introducing us the Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich and tying it all together at the end,” added Skyler Dobin, Senior Copywriter, McGarrah Jessee.