Captain D's Seafood Kitchen is taking its slogan, "sit-down food at fast-food prices," to the next level by calling out its No. 1 rival, Red Lobster.
The Nashville, Tenn.-based company refuses to stop airing a TV and Internet ad that says Captain D's offers "great seafood at a way lower price" than Red Lobster. Red Lobster, which is owned by Orlando, Fla.-based Darden Restaurants, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Captain D's demanding that it pull the ad.
In the spot, a Captain D's spokesman stands outside a Red Lobster restaurant asking customers how much they just spent on their meals. He then asks them to try a few Captain D's entrées - including Wild Alaskan Salmon, Seasoned Tilapia and Seafood Scampi Platter - and tells them they could have saved $30 or $45 at Captain D's.
"It's like the same thing we just ate," says one Red Lobster customer.
Toward the end of the spot, the spokesman says, "We were just being honest. But it seems like we ruffled some feathers over at Red Lobster, because we received this cease-and-desist letter telling us we couldn't run this ad. All we wanted to do was to point out that people can get delicious, sit-down quality seafood at a way lower price. But you know what Red Lobster? We're going to neither cease nor desist."
He then tears up the letter into several pieces and tosses it in the air.
The ad can be viewed at www.irefusetoceaseanddesist.com.
Captain D's is also giving away "I Refuse to Cease and Desist" T-shirts to the first 1,000 Web site visitors.
Captain D's operates and franchises some 580 fast-casual seafood restaurants in 26 U.S. states and several military bases worldwide.
Red Lobster is North America's largest casual seafood chain, with about 684 U.S. and Canadian restaurants, and Darden is the world's biggest casual dining company.
