Applebee's made a lip gloss that tastes like its wing sauce. People bought it.
A collaboration with Winky Lux, launched with a music video that starred real singles. The pitch was simple: Applebee’s is a date-night spot, said by people who were actually dating.
Who was watching
Singles on their phones, looking for something to do on a Friday night. Applebee's wanted to be the date-night answer, and the people best placed to say so were people who were actually dating.
What we made for them
Wing-sauce lip glosses, made with Winky Lux, launched with a music video directed by Hannah Lux Davis. Every couple in it was a real pair of singles, social handles and all, so the video worked as a dating profile as much as an ad.
What they did
It went viral, passed 1.1 billion impressions worldwide, and won a Bronze Lion at Cannes, with shortlists at The One Show and PRWeek.
Fancy Like
In 2021 Walker Hayes posted a TikTok of himself and his daughter dancing to a song about date night at Applebee's, and it was everywhere before the brand said a word. Grey and Applebee's joined it instead of trying to own it, turning the song into the ad and celebrating the people already doing the dance. I produced the integration across broadcast and social, and this case study film. It drove 4.3 billion earned impressions and a 355% lift in social reach, and won the Grand Effie and a Gold Lion at Cannes.
If you have a channel nobody is watching yet, I would like to hear about it.