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school of thought 2026:
savvy x rustlers
Created during Week eight of Sot 2026, this work was my response to the savvy brief.
School of Thought is an infamous creative course bringing together Leeds' best agencies for 12 intensive weeks of idea generation, presentations and feedback.
THE BRIEF:
The brief was to launch Rustlers’ new Spicy Chicken Fillet Burger and reposition the brand as part of modern fast-food culture. Targeting 18–35-year-olds, the campaign aimed to bring the excitement, flavour and hype of chicken shop culture into the home, making Rustlers a more culturally relevant and craveable choice for convenient meals.
THE SMP:
“Rustlers bring the hype of chicken shop culture home”
THE insight:
The barrier isn’t convenience, it’s belief.
For young people, chicken shops are low-cost social spaces: places to meet, talk, decompress and end the night. That makes the “chicken shop hit” bigger than taste alone. It’s quick, satisfying and socially understood. A microwave burger has to overcome the assumption that it can’t deliver the same hit.
The word that kept cropping up in reviews was “actually.” People don’t just say the burger is good - they say it’s actually good. That word reveals the expectation gap, and proves that the product has beaten it.
THE idea:
‘It actually slaps’
With safe, affordable social spaces disappearing, chicken shops have become more than takeaways for young people.
Rustlers cannot recreate the shop at home, but it can recreate the craving. And when it does that better than expected, the reaction says it all: It actually slaps.
in-store executions
in-aisle execution:
Aisle header shows the product and campaign line on a chicken shop-style surface. This look carries through to the SEL stripping, emulating a tiled counter and making the fixture feel reminiscent of collecting a burger from the chicken shop.
sampling station:
A chicken shop-inspired sample station with campaign branding and staff uniforms, catching consumers at the point of craving to drive trial and purchase.
stunt activation:
A mock chicken shop opening, branded separately from Rustlers and the campaign.
Free samples are handed out to encourage trial without any preconceived perceptions of the brand.
Reaction videos and stunt content then live on Rustlers’ social channels as part of the wider campaign.
