Behind the Work: A ‘Texpat Rescue Mission’ via a BBQ Delivery to the Top of Colorado’s Rocky Mountains
As the only delivery app by and for Texans, Favor knows a thing or two - namely the eating habits - about those from the Lone Star State.
A new campaign for Favor, created by fellow Texan agency Preacher, involved an epic food delivery to a homesick 'Texpat' - a Texan that has left the state but longs for the sweet taste of home. The resulting docu-style film follows a Favor delivery driver as he travels 900 miles across state lines, through snow and up an iconic mountain peak, to delight one deserving Texan. The surprise? A taste of home from Black’s Barbecue in Lockhart, Texas. The work was directed by Gregory Mitnik of the duo Peking.
The lucky Texan in the 'Texpat Rescue Mission' launch is Randy Stavinoha of Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, a mountain railway worker originally from Schulenburg, Texas. Randy wakes up every morning and clears ice off the famous Cog Railway that climbs Pikes Peak in the Rocky Mountains (and which the delivery man rides to his final destination).
Favor has been working with Preacher since last summer, partnering with the agency for an integrated brand campaign that placed a stake in the ground for Favor as the indisputably Texas way to have food delivered to your door. A series of humorous ads targeting the influx of newcomers to the state ran last summer to demonstrate 'How Texas Orders In'.
To find out more about this latest iteration, 'Texpat Rescue Mission', LBB's Addison Capper speaks with PREACHER creative director Justin Ralph, and senior copywriter Jacob Neuenswander.
LBB> Favor is the delivery app for Texans by Texans. Talk about how that positioning informed this campaign, any strategy and research behind it, and what the things you knew, and/or learned, Texans along the way.
Justin> Because Favor was born and raised in Texas, the brand knows the culture, the food, and most importantly, how Texans like to be treated—Texas hospitality is baked into everything it does. From a strategic perspective, we didn’t just want to tell our audience that, we wanted to prove it to them.
So, when our team started thinking about ways to show how Favor goes the extra mile for Texans, we thought: what if we instead went hundreds of miles for them and delivered a taste of home from one of the most iconic restaurants in Texas?
LBB> When you initially presented the idea for the Texpat Rescue Mission to Favor, what was the reaction? Was there any hesitation based on the logistics you’d have to pull off to make it possible?
Jacob> Initially, everyone was buzzing with excitement, envisioning this epic journey and the look on a surprised Texpat’s face when Favor showed up. But then came the logistical questions: How do we find this Texpat? How far can we realistically go? How will the food stay warm? How do we keep this all a surprise?
They were all fair, and we honestly didn’t know the answers at the time. But our friends at Favor trusted the process and knew that good ideas always come with some level of risk. Ultimately, they believed in the power of the gesture, the story, and our team’s ability to pull it off.
The most challenging part (but also the most fun part) was planning the production on an almost daily basis. We obviously had a road map of how we wanted the mission to go. But when you’re doing something for real, real s**t happens - you always need plan A, B, C, D, E, and F.
LBB> Tell me a bit about Randy. Who is he? How did you find him? And what did he initially think you were filming him for? Explain the set up and the story.
Jacob> Randy is a real Texpat, from Schulenburg, Texas, who recently moved to Pikes Peek, Colorado where he landed a job working on the world-famous Cog Railway. We discovered him through a casting agency that specialises in finding real people. After meeting and talking to lots of Texpats, we met Randy and immediately fell in love with his story and his sweet, humble personality.
Keeping the mission a secret was our biggest priority, so we planned a lot of the production logistics in a way that wouldn’t spoil the surprise for him. From the beginning, we told him we were a film crew making a documentary about Texpats adjusting to life outside the state, which allowed us to interview him in his home and on the job.
His flabbergasted reaction when we met him at the top of Pikes Peak and delivered the giant beef rib is totally real. We stopped him in his literal tracks.
LBB> When enlisting a director for a shoot like this, what were you ideally looking for? And why was Gregory Mitnik the right talent to help pull this off?
Jacob> We were looking for someone who had experience in documentary filmmaking, and who knew a thing or two about bringing raw emotion out of real people, and who had prior experience executing surprise moments on screen - which is a real niche craft. When we met Greg, it was like all of our delivery prayers had been answered. Having had experience with all of the above, it was a no brainer. He was the guy for us.
LBB> Who was the lucky Favor driver that got to trek up the mountain? Please provide any details on his story.
Justin> His name is Stacey Sheffield, and he grew up and lives in Fort Worth, Texas.
For us, it was important for the mission to be carried out by someone who represents a lot of Favor drivers (or ‘runners’ as they call them). Like Favor, many of its runners are born and raised in the state, so Texas hospitality comes naturally to them. You can see that with Stacey. He shows up with such genuine warmth, understanding, and friendliness, despite never having met Randy... and despite having to spend the better part of the day in snowshoes.
LBB> What was the process like of shooting and working with Black's BBQ?
Justin> The current pitmaster, Kent Black, helped Favor pull together the order, alongside his 92-year-old mother, Norma Jean Black, the second generation pitmaster, who created the family sauce. They couldn’t have been more hospitable.
There were a couple tricky parts, though. One was not slowing down their operation. On top of having a die-hard local following, people travel from all over the country to enjoy Black’s BBQ. You don’t want to be the person who gets tangled up in a sausage link and pisses off all those nice people. The other tricky part was just getting the smell of smoked meat out of our clothes. They could still use another wash.
LBB> Let's talk about the mountain shoot. What kind of crew did you work with to pull that off under what looked like really testing conditions?
Justin> Along with Greg, our director, and a couple of key people from Austin, we worked with a really talented and nimble crew from Colorado. They were more than prepared for the elements up there. We, on the other hand, were not, given that we showed up in jeans.
LBB> What were the trickiest components of this campaign, and how did you overcome them?
Justin> The biggest challenge came in the form of the biggest frickin’ snowstorm to hit Pikes Peak all year. We got the bad news while we were filming and picking up the barbecue in Texas. A leg of our flight got cancelled, but fortunately, we were able to make it to Denver and drive to the mountain. Then, when we got there, we were told the train couldn’t run and that our Texpat, Randy, was trapped inside his house - all because of the snow. Fortunately, the weather swung our way just in a nick of time and some nice guy ploughed Randy’s driveway. We took the train up and surprised him against what ended up being the most perfect backdrop we could ask for: a beautiful, pristine, snow-covered mountain.
