Fondue Pontoon is the original Fiction Brand, and it came about waiting in line. In the midst of riffing with friends I needed an example of a clearly fictional restaurant that was immediately easy to comprehend. The first thing that came to mind... Fondue Pontoon
And maybe it would have sailed into the ether and been forgotten, but it caught their attention enough that my friends 'yes and'ed and asked "Wait, what is the Fondue Pontoon" - The riff continued and just like that Fondue Pontoon, and Fiction, was born.
I knew it was a 'restaurant', and it clearly served fondue on a pontoon, but everything else still needed to be considered. I thought about the random restaurant t-shirts found in thrift shops from towns and cities you've never been to and may never visit. I thought about the restaurants of the 80's and 90's, when the fast casual chains still felt distinct and not white washed corporate beige.
It became clear that the core inspirations were a meeting of 90's Americana nostalgia and loving satire in the vein of an SNL skit.
With concept in hand I set about creating a restaurant that seemed real, but you'd never go to. The slogan America's Finest Nautical Themed Fondue came from this; generic, upbeat, and just odd enough to capture attention and pull you in with its quirk and humor. From that and my love of mom & pop merch, I created a tshirt to match, with a mascot (The Captain) and a catchphrase, "Let's Fondue This"
The goal was to build a real brand around a fake restaurant, but I didn't want to run the risk of being overly serious, which would turn people away from the humor of it. So naturally I did what everyone would do; rent a pontoon boat and film a public access style commercial, complete with 80's/90's grain, hard cuts, and muzak underscoring it.
And it would have stopped there, but the video got enough people excited that a local coffee shop reached out about hosting a pop up. Again, the goal was to never actually serve food, but it was an opportunity too good to pass up. So we' docked' the pontoon, I got my food servers license, we made some silly promo videos, and set a date. We had 4 reserved tables and fondue-to-go (fondue in a cup with bread slices).. and that was it. But the best part is that everyone who came, came for the bit. With the sales of the shirts it somehow ended up being a profitable venture.
A future pop up is always a possibility, perhaps this time on actual pontoons, but I will always be proud of being the captain of the Fondue Pontoon because it combined so many of my creative passions into one project. Concept, Branding, Design, Merchandising, Humor and making videos, and an Instalation/Activation