Quebec TikTok is currently obsessed with Lucie, the new star of poutine and hot-dog chain Lafleur Restaurants.
Described by users as an adorable mom-like figure, Lucie jumps on TikTok memes, taste tests new menu items, explains how the potato cutter works, and recounts date nights with her husband at Lafleur.
After 17 videos in three weeks since launching, the campaign has hit 3.5 million views. Today they posted her “origin story.”
While every Lafleur restaurant in and around Montreal has a Lucie-type behind the counter, it turns out Quebec TikTok’s newest sensation is an actress. She’s the creation of digital marketing agency Dreww founder Andrew Johnson and Lafleur marketing/communications director Alexandra Tsotsis.
It’s a family business for Tsotsis—her husband is the CEO—and the actress playing “Lucie” has been such a hit, she’s starting to feel like part of the Lafleur family, she said. We asked the pair about how this new TikTok craze came to be.
What’s the origin of Lucie?
Andrew Johnson: It started with Alexandra and her husband taking over the family business. They’re modernizing the experience at the restaurant, and they sought to modernize the brand as well online. We felt like corporate social media accounts don’t work these days. You just post a photo of your poutine and that’s it. We started by just signing off our captions with the name of this fictitious character called Lucie and that got people engaged with the page. They were referring to Lucie because of that. And we decided to take that one step further. We literally wrote a story world, we built the character profile, and we held auditions to play this cashier that is reminiscent of that classic french fry fast food restaurant cashier, one who’s super lovable and full of energy.
Commenters often call her “mom.” Why do you think people are resonating with her?
AJ: I think it’s because it feels authentic and real. We didn’t just want to hire a young person. I think she’s also just larger than life in real life. She’s quite a character all on her own. She’s a regular person with a normal life, but in a way she’s always playing Lucie, that’s how she is.
Are you worried about how people will react when they discover she’s not real?
AJ: I think it’s inevitable that people will do a little bit of research and you’ll find her actor profile.
Alexandra Tsotsis: I think it’s inevitable at some point, but the truth is, since we’ve hired her and since she’s come into this world, she’s actually really proud of what she’s doing. She actually feels like she’s part of the Lafleur family, and when you see her interact with employees while she’s filming, she’s really enjoying being part of the team. At this point I have a hard time not calling her an employee.
How has the reaction been offline, at the actual restaurants?
AJ: With very few advertising campaigns you can directly see an increase in sales, and Alex and her team have immediately seen a significant increase (10 percent) in their sales and foot traffic, which is quite rare for a campaign that isn’t a million-dollar TV ad, with billboards.
AT: We’ve seen easily a 10 to 15 percent increase in new clients.
Presumably younger ones?
AT: From what our managers are telling us, there’s a lot of new faces, some younger, some older, but I guess a little bit more on the younger side.
