Applebee’s TikTok-viral Walker Hayes collab wins 2022 U.S. Grand Effie

“Fancy Like,” Applebee’s TikTok-viral collaboration with pop country singer Walker Hayes, will be known for not only its internet celebrity but also as an industry-wide accolade. The restaurant chain’s campaign was awarded the Grand Effie at the 2022 Effie Awards U.S. Gala this evening. The award, judged by a panel of marketing and media professionals, recognizes the most effective marketing campaign in the past year. Ad Age Small Agency Conference & Awards Get your tickets for Chicago event held on July 26 and 27. Click here In his almost-three-minute-long music video, Hayes performs his country hit “Fancy Like,” the lyrics of which feature a date night at Applebee’s: “Yeah, we fancy like Applebee's on a date night / Got that Bourbon Street steak with the Oreo shake / Get some whipped cream on the top too.” The video reached quick fame on TikTok, where the hashtag #fancylike has more than 887 million views. Applebee's released ads featuring the song and snippets from TikTok videos last August. The campaign was initiated by Applebee’s and WPP's Grey, New York, with contributions from agencies Initiative Media, Current Global, Townhouse, and Barkley. “It was clear that the team was following the lead of culture versus trying to create it, which made it feel organic and authentic,” said Kate Charles, chief strategy officer and managing partner at Oberland and 2022 Effie US Grand judge. “'Fancy Like Applebee’s' also shows that a great idea can come from anywhere—if you’re ready.” Aside from its culture-shifting virality, the campaign was also a sales sensation. Applebee’s outpaced sales of its competitors by 9.3% and, as quoted in Effie’s press release, successfully made "‘Fancy Like Applebee's' the feel-good catchphrase of summer 2021.” The Grand Effie winner was selected from among the top Gold Effie winners in this year’s competition. Applebee’s edged out many other successful marketing campaigns, including “Spirits to Fit Your Lifestyle” by Diageo North America and Arc Worldwide; “McDonald’s Famous Orders” by McDonald’s and Wieden+Kennedy New York (with The Narrative Group, Alma DDB, IW Group, and Burrell); "Change The Ref," from Leo Burnett Chicago and Hungry Man Productions for “The Lost Class” (with MSL Group, Unicorns & Unicorns, No6, and Tusk Strategies); “Superb Owl” from Reddit and R/GA; and Cervecera de Puerto Rico/Medalla Light and DDB Latina Puerto Rico for “Sounds From Home." In addition to its traditional awards, Effie introduced a DEI category to the Social Good awards within the Positive Change Effies. Procter & Gamble and Grey New York won a Gold Effie for “Widen the Screen" in that category. Another Gold Effie in the Sustained Success category recognized effective work that has sustained measurable growth over three or more years. It was awarded to JAMRS’ TodaysMilitary.com and MullenLowe U.S. for “Their Tomorrow.” “The resilience and creativity within our industry never ceases to inspire me,” said Traci Alford, global CEO, Effie Worldwide. “This year’s winners were brave, agile and innovative in a challenging marketing landscape, and excelled across all four pillars of the Effie effectiveness framework to deliver growth and build their businesses.” Effie also revealed the results of its 2022 U.S. rankings, which reflected the total points from finalists and winners of this year’s competition. Among all competition entries, McDonald’s was ranked highest in both the Most Effective Marketers and Most Effective Brands categories, while Interpublic Group of Cos. topped the ranking of Most Effective Holding Companies, followed by Omnicom and Publicis Groupe. DDB Worldwide's network topped the list of Most Effective Agency Networks, while DDB's Miami-based office, Alma DDB, triumphed in the Most Effective Agency Offices list. The highest-ranked independent agency went to Wieden+Kennedy New York, which was closely followed by Mischief @ No Fixed Address.

Applebee’s TikTok-viral Walker Hayes collab wins 2022 U.S. Grand Effie

Featured Stories