‘South Park’ Guys Run Great ‘Retro’ Ad for Colorado’s Casa Bonita
After all the money that the "South Park" guys have put into purchasing and renovating Denver's most famous restaurant, it should come as no surprise that they'd spring for a big ad in the paper.
Trey Parker and Matt Stone are funny and creative, and it shows in how they went about this advertisement. It celebrates how they are now the owners of the place, but the place has been around a long, long, time.
The entire state of Colorado, and surrounding areas, are very excited for Casa Bonita to officially reopen after the guys have spent a reported $40 million renovating the famous restaurant; this of course, after purchasing the pink building for $3.1 million in September of 2021.
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Adding to the excitement is a big "wrap" ad that Parker and Stone put in the Denver Post that they not only paid for but were a part of. I heard about the ad, and saw a part of it; I had to see it for myself, so I went to the Windsor Library to look at their copy of the Sunday, June 11, 2023 copy of the Denver Post.
I was prepared to have to go through the whole Sunday paper, but it only took ten seconds to find the ad; it was "wrapping" the outside of the Denver & The West Section.
I had a clue as to what lay inside the wrap, but I had no idea it was going to be such a big ad. Stone and Parker seem more than ready for the masses to start filling up the restaurant to see the improvements they've made.
As I pulled the wrap away from the section, it became clear that it was going to be "large and in charge;" I could hear Cartman saying, "Respect my authoriTIE!"
"The Greatest Restaurant in the World" has been seen on billboards in the Denver area, as the Grand Reopening approaches; here it was, again. I was excited (way too excited for an ad in the paper) and I hadn't even gotten to what I knew would be the best part, yet.
Opening up the flap of the wrap, here was the "A" of the ad: details about getting tickets to get into Casa Bonita and what to expect; along with the classic highlights of the restaurant (which still remain) off to the left.
Then it was on to the backside of the wrap, the "B" side, and the best part of the whole ad. This was the part I had heard about. The ad within the ad:
Stone and Parker (and their marketing team) went through the effort of creating a fake advertisement photo for Casa Bonita from "back in the day," which included themselves. It's terrific.
LET'S BREAK DOWN THE "RETRO" CASA BONITA AD:
- Matt Stone as an "eager to please" Casa Bonita manager, circa the '80s.
- "I'm not an actor" Trey Parker as a customer dining with the family.
- Nachos, hamburgers, and Casa Bonita cups.
- Staff in the background.
It's well thought out and well executed. I'm sure that we'd see "South Park" characters helping to advertise Casa Bonita, but I'm guessing that would be more hassle with Comedy Central and [HBO] Max than it's worth.
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Gallery Credit: Nate Wilde
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