Stories from behind the scenes of one of the craziest professions other than yours.

This is Not a Fuddruckers, Ma’am

FACT: Gavin Robin, the owner of DAMN GOOD, is a complete branding nerd. So much so that when they closed down one of the last remaining Fuddrucker’s in South Florida, he made a deal to buy their exterior building illuminated HUGE sign with the logo on it.

This sign was huge, about 7 feet tall by 15 feet wide, with illuminated channel letters, and was in surprisingly good condition. Gavin had no room to display it at the agency, so he kept it stored for a number of years. When the agency moved to its location in downtown Delray Beach in 2014, he reinforced the wall of the conference room with steel girders so it could support the sign, which dominated the room looking out onto Southeast 1st Street. 

Beyond just memorabilia from one of the world’s most distinctive burger chains, the big, bold sign was intended to serve as an homage to iconic brands from years gone by, a conversation starter about the enduring power of branding. But the extent of that power proved surprising even to Gavin and the DAMN GOOD 

It wasn’t long before people began coming to the agency’s front door looking for hamburgers. When told that this was an agency and not a burger joint, many would refuse to believe us, as if the agency was somehow hoarding all of the burgers for ourselves.

Eventually, Fuddruckers sent corporate officers to the agency to survey the situation. They threatened legal action, but we were able to show how we acquired the sign legally and fairly, so we reached an agreement with them by tinting our windows so the sign would be less visible from the street.

Today, the sign still graces the conference room wall, and passers-by will occasionally press their face against the glass in order to check if burgers are flipping inside, a brilliant monument to the incredible power of branding.