Trayless Dining: the Movie

COLLEGE: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-AUSTIN

CONCEPT: TRAYLESS DINING VIDEO

Associate Dining Director Scott Meyer showed some hidden talents for comedy (and movie direction) with this short video clip.

Its purpose was to alert and educate students about the impending removal of trays from a pair of campus all-you-care-to-eat dining halls.

Rather than engage in paint-by-numbers explanations, the video uses an old-time silent movie approach (complete with intertitles) to send the message.

Meyer stars as a Chaplinesque administrator who shows a pair of befuddled students how to navigate a dining hall without the use of trays. The last scene, with Meyer selling off the now-useless trays on the street is a comic capper to an inspired piece of marketing.

A sense of humor is a necessary tool in onsite dining. In evaluating Best Concept nominees, we ran across a few college operators who filled the bill as straight men in ding promotions that relied on sending humorous messages to customers. College dining can be a tough segment because of the natural age disconnect between most directors and their customers. Willing to go the extra mile to close that gap deserves an extra hand from us here at FM.