News Release

One Year after IHOb Campaign Sensation, the Brand Listens to the Internet and Sticks to What it Knows Best: Pancakes

GLENDALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun. 3, 2019-- Last year, IHOP introduced the award-winning IHOb - for burgers - advertising campaign and the Internet had a lot to say about it. It told IHOP to stay in their lane. To stick to pancakes. So, this year, IHOP is taking the Internet’s advice by calling their new Steakburgers “Pancakes.”

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IHOP unveils three new all-natural, 100% USDA Choice, Black Angus beef “Pancakes”: The Big IHOP Pancake Burger, Garlic Butter Steakburger and Loaded Philly Steakburger. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Launching today, the line-up of all-natural, 100% USDA Choice, Black Angus beef Pancakes features three new, enticing flavors: The Garlic Butter “Pancake”, The Loaded Philly “Pancake”, and The Big IHOP “Pancake”, a “Pancake” with a pancake in it. The Big IHOP Pancake Burger™ includes a hot, fluffy, cheddar cheese pancake layered between two juicy beef patties, melted American cheese, crisp bacon and house-made IHOP sauce, but it’s only available for a limited time. Each “Pancake” is made with all-natural, 100% USDA choice, Black Angus beef, smashed on the grill to sear in the juices, hand-seasoned and piled high with premium ingredients. And, for a limited time, all Pancakes (we mean Steakburgers) will be served with unlimited fries, starting at $6.99*.

That’s right, IHOP is following up on last year’s successful Ultimate Steakburger launch with a playful twist that again shows that it takes its burgers as seriously as it takes it pancakes. After temporarily changing its name to IHOb – for The International House of Burgers – a heated debate across social media ensued, with some die-hard pancake fans taking to Twitter to make it known that they wanted IHOP to “stay in its lane.” So, this June, the brand is, in fact, sticking to pancakes by renaming its Ultimate Steakburgers for a limited-time with a line-up that includes:

• The Big IHOP Pancake (Burger)™: A world-famous buttermilk pancake griddled with Cheddar cheese and layered between two premium Steakburger patties, then topped with American cheese, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon and house-made IHOP sauce.
• Garlic Butter Pancake (Steakburger): Topped with savory house-made Gilroy garlic butter, custom-cured hickory-smoked bacon, White Cheddar cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato, onion and mayo.
• Loaded Philly Pancake (Steakburger): Piled high with sautéed onions and peppers and smothered with melted White Cheddar cheese and Cheddar cheese sauce.

“When we launched our new Ultimate Steakburgers last year, what better way to show the world that we take our burgers as seriously as we take our pancakes than by announcing that we’d be changing our name to IHOb … temporarily,” said Brad Haley, Chief Marketing Officer at IHOP. “That was hard for a lot of people to accept since they’d always known IHOP primarily as the breakfast and pancake place, so they took to social media to tell us - often in no uncertain terms - to stay in our lane and stick to pancakes. But we made our all-natural, 100% USDA Choice, Black Angus beef Steakburgers good enough to stand up to the best burgers out there and we sold a lot of them: initially four times what we sold before, and they are still selling double what we sold before. So, we’re listening to the Internet this year by calling our new Steakburgers ‘Pancakes.’ And, so many people asked us why we didn’t have a pancake burger last year that we’ve even added a ‘Pancake’ with a pancake in it: The Big IHOP Pancake … Burger.”

In addition to referring to their new burgers as “Pancakes,” IHOP is taking things a step further by creating a digital experience that aims to get reluctant burger-lovers onboard with their new approach.

“There were over 3.3 million tweets about #IHOb last year, and some of them weren’t very nice,” Haley added. “So, our lead creative agency, Droga5, created a digital experience to engage last year’s naysayers and convert haters into eaters. Those who tweeted something, shall we say, unkind last year may find that they’re on The Bancake List, an aggregated list of Twitter users who tweeted at IHOP to stay in its lane. Fortunately, there is a way to get off The Bancake List – all they have to do is tweet something nice about IHOP’s Pancakes/Burgers, and they’ll be removed from the list. To make it even easier, we’re providing very funny options people can choose from if they don’t want to create their own and, best of all, they could even be rewarded with a token of the brand’s appreciation. Users can visit BancakeList.com to find out whether they or their friends are on The Bancake List, and how to get off of it. Of course, we’ll also be engaging many of those guests who were instant fans of our Steakburgers last year.”

The new Steakburger line-up joins IHOP’s original burger flavors, including The Classic, The Classic with Bacon, Mega Monster, Cowboy BBQ, The Big Brunch and Jalapeno Kick. Pancakes – the meaty kind or the fluffy kind -- are both best enjoyed with IHOP’s new House-Made Milkshakes. Recently introduced at all IHOP restaurants, House-Made Milkshakes are made with hand-scooped, premium, natural vanilla ice cream, with real milk and whipped topping, and are available in five craveable flavors: HERSHEY’s Chocolate, Strawberry, OREO® Cookie, Cold-Brew Coffee and Vanilla.

Guests can visit IHOP.com to find their nearest IHOP restaurant and learn more about the new lineup of all-natural, 100% USDA choice Black Angus ‘Pancakes’ and to see if they are on The Bancake List.

*Price and participation may vary. Offer only available for a limited time. Dine-in only.

**A select number of rewards will be available. Participating in or being listed on the Bancake website does not guarantee a prize.

OREO® and the OREO® Wafer Design are trademarks of Mondelez International group, used under license.

The HERSHEY’S trademark is used under license from The Hershey Company.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL HOUSE OF PANCAKES, LLC

For over 60 years, IHOP has been a leader, innovator and expert in all things breakfast, any time of day. The chain offers 65 different signature, fresh, made-to-order breakfast options, a wide selection of popular lunch and dinner items, including Ultimate Steakburgers. IHOP restaurants offer guests an affordable, everyday dining experience with warm and friendly service. As of December 31, 2018, there are 1,831 IHOP restaurants around the world, including restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam as well as Canada, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Lebanon, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Thailand and India. IHOP restaurants are franchised by affiliates of Glendale, Calif.-based Dine Brands Global, Inc. (NYSE: DIN).

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190603005035/en/

Source: IHOP

Sami Newman
DeVries Global
+ 1 212-546-8510
SNewman@devriesglobal.com