Harvey's made a Beautiful Hamburger but they messed up their Marketing

You might remember the old advertising jingle, “Harvey’s makes a Hamburger a beautiful thing”.

It seems they’re not so good at producing beautiful or even truthful advertising.

I’ve been a fan of Harvey’s for more decades than I care to admit. So naturally I was interested in the flyer that arrived with the newspaper. When I’m riding or driving around in the summer I often look for a Harvey’s to grab a bite.

This flyer was a four-page insert. Look at the front page and notice what messages stand out the most.

The first message that might grab you is $1.99. Why? Because it is the near the top left of the page and more importantly it’s the largest font on the page. It’s also orange with a white online on black - which is attention grabbing. Nice colour scheme.

As you scan the page, the next message that might grab your attention is “2 Weeks Only!”

It’s heavy font of black on white and emphasized with an exclamation point. When you look under that heading you’ll see the time frame of June 27 – July 10, 2016.

Before you open this flyer you might be thinking “I only have two weeks to take advantage of these specials.”

The top of the second page features “Summer Drink Deals”. Under that heading, it states, “All Summer long”. But what does that mean? If you read the previous page you’ve been programed to expect only two weeks of specials.

If you examine the fine print with a magnifying glass you’ll discover that the All Summer Long” ends on Sep 11 even though you know that summer really ends on Sept 21. Apparently Harvey’s definition of summer is different than the rest of the world. That means “All summer” was a lie. Ouch!

Below the summer drink deals are eight coupons. Naturally, based on what I read on the front page, I assumed that these coupons were only valid for two weeks. However, if you are persistent enough and pull out your magnifying glass you’ll discover that these coupons expire on August 21, 2016.

I was confused at this point so I understand that you might be as well. Apparently Harvey’s didn’t consider the downside of confusing or lying to their customers.

The coupons are difficult to read because it’s tiny black font on orange background. There are more difficult combinations but this is onerous enough to discourage people to read it.

Under the tiny print about expiry date was even smaller print which I was unable to read with my magnifier.  Who knows what it said.

Top of the third page features “Three Cheese & Bacon”. The middle of the ad states “Limited Time Only” but it didn’t define the time frame. You might wonder “When is this available and when will you tell me?”

Bottom of this page features another eight coupons. At least these are on a white background which is much easier to read then on an orange background. But the font is tiny again. The expiry is Aug 21, 2016 and under that is the nano-font that wasn’t meant to be read by regular people. Where is Ant Man when you need him?

The back page was a repeat of the Summer Drinks Deal – claiming to be all summer long – but not really all summer long because it ends on Sept 11. Do the people at Harvey’s know when summer starts and ends? Do they know that most people know when summer ends? Why are they lying?

Perhaps we can look forward to their pseudo “All Fall” “All Winter” and “All Spring” promotions.

Well Harvey's, good thing I still like the hamburger. But, your marketing stinks. It's annoying, deceptive and confusing.

As Dr Phil might say, "How's that working for you?"

George Torok Keynote Marketing Speaker Co-author of Secrets of Power Marketing Get your free copy of "50 Power Marketing Ideas" Power Marketing on FaceBook Marketing Zoo on Twitter