Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 27, 1995 TAG: 9501270019
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
Frank Perdue, the Maryland businessman who proved in two decades' worth of television commercials that real men can make tender chicken, is flying the coop as spokesman for one of the nation's largest poultry producers.
Perdue, 74, will step down as pitchman for Perdue Farms Inc., the company founded by his father, Arthur Perdue, in 1920 with 23 pullets and a chicken coop. But to make sure the company doesn't go afowl of Madison Avenue, another Perdue will hawk chickens in future commercials.
Jim Perdue, 45-year-old son of Frank - and chairman of the company since 1991 - will assume the leadership role on the small screen. In typical company fashion, the Salisbury, Md.-based corporation plans to herald the younger Perdue's ascension with a splashy, multimillion-dollar ad campaign that begins Monday.
But will Jim Perdue, a soft-spoken office type, be able to fill his well-known father's shoes?
``My father's persona developed over time, and I suppose that will happen with me, too,'' he said.
Not everyone is so sure.
``This is a sad day for chickendom,'' said Jerry Della Femina, chief executive of the New York advertising agency Jerry & Ketchum. ``It's not going to work with his son. No way. Come on, Frank even looked like a chicken. He had the style down. When people saw his ads, they were just waiting for something funny to happen. There's no way his son can do that.''
Countered Kevin McKeon, senior vice president at New York's Lowe & Partners/SMS and the writer of the new ad campaign: ``Frank was the '70s and the '80s; the public is ready for some fresh blood ... Jim is younger, has new energy, but you can't expect him to become huge like Frank overnight. People will grow to like him; he's a very warm, likable guy.''
Frank Perdue, still chairman of Perdue's executive committee, won't fade away entirely, however. ``Believe me, we will continue to see him in the office almost every day,'' the younger Perdue said. ``We just didn't want to see him working 18 hours a day anymore to promote the company.''
The elder Perdue's 175 commercials since 1971 changed the face of food marketing. Almost single-handedly, Perdue's often humorous ads gave processed meat its first brand name - making Perdue chicken as recognizable as Kellogg's Corn Flakes or Purina Dog Chow.
His persona as the ``tough man who makes a tender chicken'' put Perdue in the name-recognition category of the Tidy Bowl Man, for instance. He also paved the way for other television-friendly chief executives, such as Dave Thomas of Wendy's.
``Frank Perdue created the entire concept of a brand in poultry associated with a quality product,'' said Gail Elizabeth Price, director of corporate communications for competitor WLR Foods Inc., based in Broadway, Va. ``With those ads, he dramatically increased American consumption of chicken. That man did some astounding things.''
Amazingly, Frank Perdue, often viewed through the years as more ham than chicken, had stage fright before his debut on the small screen. In fact, he didn't even want to go through with the original ad campaign launched in 1971.
This time around, his son shared his hesitations.
``I still have mixed feelings,'' Jim Perdue said. ``Getting in front of the camera is not something I like to do, but it gives some comfort to the consumer to know the people behind the product. At least, that's what our ad agency tells us.''
In the new commercials, Frank passes the torch to his son in a whimsical 60-second spot that starts with the elder Perdue fussing on the set about his competitors.
``After all those years, my competitors are still waiting for us to get soft; I guess they think eventually I'll just retire,'' he says. Then he wanders down the hall to an egg hatchery, and opens the door to reveal his own progeny: ``Meet my son Jim. He may be even tougher than I am.''
by CNB