Lion’s Choice: Can’t Ignore the Roar

Rebranding a local favorite

If you don’t live in Missouri, you’ve probably never heard of Lion’s Choice. But for locals, it’s the In-n-Out of the Show Me State. The brand’s cult-like following enjoys delicious shaved beef sandwiches served with seven award-winning sauces in a family-friendly environment. Their secret? Use better ingredients than the other guys.

Lion’s Choice was founded in 1967 and hadn’t changed its branding since. They put out an RFP and our agency responded. The original slogan “Real Roast Beef Ready Right Now” was hard to beat in its succinctness and alliterative qualities. But our challenge was to bring a modern spin. Our solution was to lean into the cult-like following and highlight the brand’s ingredients in ways that seemed to genuinely fit (not offend) the brand’s hardcore supporters.

We pitched three ideas: CAN’T IGNORE THE ROAR, SHAVE BEEF NOT CORNERS, and THE CALL OF THE LION. We were proud of the work. The result: well, they decided to go a different direction. Disappointed, but not discouraged, we soldier on.