IHOP "P" - Again

The brand is at it again…

As a follow up to the brand’s now infamous “B” campaign last year, IHOP re-ignited the controversy and finally put to rest that the “P” stands for pancakes. IHOP, International House of Pancakes. Evidently, lots of different kinds of pancakes.

If you recall, IHOP temporarily changed its name to IHOB to promote its line of burgers. Social media went crazy and even competitors got into the conversation and basically told the brand to stick to pancakes. Well it all worked because sales skyrocketed both for burgers and for pancakes.

For several days now, IHOP has been teasing the meaning of the “P” once again, ultimately launching a new set of burgers called pancakes. Confusing…nah…just getting people talking! Talking about all kinds of pancakes.

The brand also set up a “Bancaked List” of people who tweeted negative comments about the whole “B” scandal. To get off of the list, you simply have to tweet something nice this time around! That’s kinda clever.

Nice example of a continuity of a campaign, with a creative attempt to keep a concept alive that did its job. For those of us who do this for a living, that’s not an easy thing to do.

What’s your experience? JIM.