an a balding, mid-
dle-aged man with a
big nose and goofy
grin really sell chick-
en? No, not alone,
says Jim Perdue. His
mug helps to market tender birds,
but the 51-year-old poultry company
scion refuses to take sole credit for
the success of a national TV advertis-
ing campaign that features his smil-
ing face peering through the window
of a warm oven. Consumer tests have
shown the advertisement has sparked
above-average brand recognition and
interest among non-Perdue buyers.
Perdue attributes the success of his
company’s branding efforts to the
quality of its product—chicken, in all
its golden, plump glory—also fea-
tured in the ad. If the product weren’t
excellent, no ad campaign, no matter
how good, would salvage the Perdue
brand image, he points out.
But Perdue is wrong to discount
the weight of his name when it comes
to building the corporate image and
its most famous products. After all,
his is the company’s name; his father,
Frank, spent years on TV telling con-
sumers, “It takes a tough man to
make a tender chicken.” As a result,
Perdue, as CEO of Perdue Farms Inc.,
shoulders a special responsibility: to
serve as the fresh face behind the
name and to represent the brand’s
renewed message.
than Victor Kiam? Or Lee Iacocca’s
“the buck stops here” approach for
Chrysler? Witness folksy Dave
Thomas hawking burgers in more
than 500 ads for Wendy’s
International. Or Frank Perdue, and
later, son Jim, talking tough about
tender chickens.
Company Becomes Person
Richard Branson’s irreverence and
zeal for life have personified Virgin’s
empire of record stores, airlines and
soft drinks. Iconoclastic, hard-driving
Steve Jobs, whose anti-establishment
approach permeates Apple Computer
Inc., created a lasting impression of
the brand that trickles down to users
who identify themselves as Mac devo-
tees. “The company becomes about
the person, and it has a personality to
it,” says Robert Kahn, executive direc-
tor at global brand consulting firm
Enterprise IG. “The CEO is the
absolute bottom line for a company.
There’s a