Hasta La Creative!

Unlike some of its casual-dining brethren, Ruby Tuesday figures it’s better to burn out than fade away. With that in mind, the chain is planning to destroy one of its restaurants next Tuesday in a glorious, self-defeating explosion that will be broadcast live on its Web site. Technically, the stunt, coordinated by ad agency BooneOakley, is meant to usher in a new beginning for the chain, with an ad campaign tagged “It’s a brand new Tuesday.” But it feels more like a grand statement about the category generally. (Bennigan’s probably regrets closing its locations meekly in the middle of the night instead of sending them sky-high.) Teasers for the Ruby detonation include newspaper ads with copy shaped like a bomb. (With any luck, those ads will not be running anywhere near Boston.) There’s also a countdown clock on the Web site, but it’s only counting in days, hours and seconds—they forgot to include minutes. Our advice: stay away from this detonation site at all costs.

—Posted by Tim Nudd