Dive Brief:
- IHOP is declaring the first Tuesday of March as the brand’s annual National Pancake Day with a campaign aimed at younger consumers, according to a press release.
- In addition to free pancakes, the campaign sees the chain promoting an event with creator and musician Mr. Fantasy with a street-style push meant to embody the low-tech aesthetics of the early internet.
- While National Pancake Day is typically celebrated in September, the Dine Brands chain is pushing up its celebration to create a new brand experience. It comes as IHOP increasingly focuses on value amid economic uncertainty and an increased cost of living.
Dive Insight:
IHOP is celebrating National Pancake Day on its own terms with a new campaign centered around living in the moment and community. Instead of a multichannel digital effort, the brand is using homemade-looking flyers placed in high-traffic areas to make the breakfast spot feel more like a neighborhood gathering place than a national chain.
Mr. Fantasy, the musical alter ego of “Riverdale” star KJ Apa with 1.2 million TikTok followers, serves as the campaign’s face. Campaign flyers feature a clip art-esque cutout of his face and are designed to feel like they were made by the artist personally while promoting his upcoming appearance at the IHOP located on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
The campaign embraces both nostalgia for the aesthetics of the early internet and the desire to unplug digitally and live in the present moment, a sentiment other brands have embraced in recent months. IHOP is encouraging consumers to get together and enjoy quality time over stacks of pancakes, which they can get for free at participating locations between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on March 3.
The prospect of free food could help entice consumers to eat out at a restaurant, as 37% of Americans dine out less than they did a year ago. As consumers decide to eat at home, restaurant marketers including IHOP parent Dine Brands have increasingly turned towards focusing on value.
IHOP has taken steps to position itself as a place for community gatherings. The brand recently launched a campaign centered around the common fantasy football tradition of forcing the loser to eat pancakes for 24 hours, while IHOP flipped into a celebration.
IHOP’s year-over-year domestic comparable same-restaurant sales increased 0.3% in Q4 2025, according to Dine Brands’ earnings report.
