CLIENT
Applebee's
John Cywinski, President
Joel Yashinsky, Chief Marketing Officer
Heather Boyer, Director, Advertising & Partnerships
AGENCY
Justine Armour, Chief Creative Officer
Lance Parrish, Executive Creative Director
Nadine Falco, EVP, Account Director
Mike Latshaw, CD/Writer
Talia Rapp, ACD/Writer
Jessica Bass, ACD/Art Director
Ariana Tsapralis, Account Supervisor
Mary Jane Fischer, Senior Account Executive
Lauren Friezo, Planning Director
Estie Wassner, Planner
Arie Andrews, Project Director
Juan Zamorano, Senior Graphic
Christopher Baugh, Senior Copywriter
Initiative Media (NY)
Current Global
Townhouse
Peri Brand, Executive Integrated Producer
Leland Drake, Music Producer
Nicole Kogos, Assistant Integrated Producer
Michael Ramirez, Creative Film and Video Editor
Barkley
SUMMARY
Applebee’s needed to do something bold to differentiate itself from the bleak CDR narrative. The mission: inject optimism into culture on a never-before-seen scale, partnering with country singer Walker Hayes to hijack a TikTok song and turn it into a massive business win and total culture-driving vibe shift. With the launch of the “Fancy Like Applebee’s” campaign, accompanied by a "Fancy Like" meal, Applebee’s outpaced sales of competitors by 9.3% while simultaneously making “Fancy Like Applebee’s” the feel-good catchphrase of summer 2021.
