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Sonic Drive-In partners with musical artists JP Saxe, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, and Metro Boomin to promote its customizable drinksSonic Drive-In partners with musical artists JP Saxe, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, and Metro Boomin to promote its customizable drinks

The celebrities posted videos of themselves with their favorite beverages on Instagram

Bret Thorn, Senior Food Editor

July 18, 2023

2 Min Read
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Sonic Drive-In is partnering with musical artists to highlight something the quick-service chain has long been known for — it’s nearly infinitely customizable beverages.

Each of the artists, JP Saxe, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, and Metro Boomin, posted Instagram videos highlighting their favorite drinks, which are, respectively, a mango slush with Nerds candy in it, Ocean Water (Sprite with coconut flavor) with blue raspberry and lime, Sprite Zero with strawberries and sugar-free peach, and lemonade with strawberries and vanilla.

“Our connection to music runs deep, and we are always looking for ways to authentically incorporate music into what we do,” chief marketing officer Lori Abou Habib said in a press release announcing the marketing initiative. “Whether they’re jamming in the car at the drive-in or at a music festival, we know music is a huge part of our fans’ lives. Now, we're partnering with these talented artists to showcase their favorite ways to customize their drinks at Sonic. Just as their genres offer music for every fan, there’s a drink to satisfy every craving at Sonic.” 

Sonic offers a full line of Coca-Cola products, plus Dr. Pepper, as well as lemonades, limeades, iced tea, eight different slush flavors, Red Bull, milk, and coffee, plus, plus a dozen flavored syrups and four types of fruit — cherry, lemon, lime, and strawberry. All told, the different combinations could add up to the quintillions and beyond.

Related:Wingstop collaborates with hip-hop artist for The Latto Meal

Country singer and songwriter Ballerini said in the release that she has a personal connection to the 3,500-unit chain.

“I have so many summertime memories from my teen years until now that involve Sonic. From going with friends after games to grabbing something to sip on the way to soundcheck. My go to has always been an Ocean Water, and when you remix it with blue raspberry and real limes … it’s a vacation in a cup,” she said.

DJ and music producer Metro Boomin shared a similar perspective.

“Sonic brings back memories from my childhood. Growing up it was one of my go-to spots to grab a quick bite with my family,” he said. “Now whether I’m home or on tour, or just looking for a moment of nostalgia, I hit a local Sonic. You can’t beat a Lemonade with vanilla and real strawberries, especially in this summer heat!”

Sonic said a portion of every drink sold is used to support local schools in the communities it serves in the 47 states where it operates through the Sonic Foundation, which is a division of the Inspire Brands Foundation.

Sonic is a division of Atlanta-based Inspire Brands.

Related:Why some restaurant companies are starting to act more like marketing companies

 

Contact Bret Thorn at [email protected] 

 

 

About the Author

Bret Thorn

Senior Food Editor, Nation's Restaurant News

Senior Food & Beverage Editor

Bret Thorn is senior food & beverage editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality for Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group, with responsibility for spotting and reporting on food and beverage trends across the country for both publications as well as guiding overall F&B coverage. 

He is the host of a podcast, In the Kitchen with Bret Thorn, which features interviews with chefs, food & beverage authorities and other experts in foodservice operations.

From 2005 to 2008 he also wrote the Kitchen Dish column for The New York Sun, covering restaurant openings and chefs’ career moves in New York City.

He joined Nation’s Restaurant News in 1999 after spending about five years in Thailand, where he wrote articles about business, banking and finance as well as restaurant reviews and food columns for Manager magazine and Asia Times newspaper. He joined Restaurant Hospitality’s staff in 2016 while retaining his position at NRN. 

A magna cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Medford, Mass., with a bachelor’s degree in history, and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Thorn also studied traditional French cooking at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris. He spent his junior year of college in China, studying Chinese language, history and culture for a semester each at Nanjing University and Beijing University. While in Beijing, he also worked for ABC News during the protests and ultimate crackdown in and around Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Thorn’s monthly column in Nation’s Restaurant News won the 2006 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for best staff-written editorial or opinion column.

He served as president of the International Foodservice Editorial Council, or IFEC, in 2005.

Thorn wrote the entry on comfort food in the Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, 2nd edition, published in 2012. He also wrote a history of plated desserts for the Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets, published in 2015.

He was inducted into the Disciples d’Escoffier in 2014.

A Colorado native originally from Denver, Thorn lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Bret Thorn’s areas of expertise include food and beverage trends in restaurants, French cuisine, the cuisines of Asia in general and Thailand in particular, restaurant operations and service trends. 

Bret Thorn’s Experience: 

Nation’s Restaurant News, food & beverage editor, 1999-Present
New York Sun, columnist, 2005-2008 
Asia Times, sub editor, 1995-1997
Manager magazine, senior editor and restaurant critic, 1992-1997
ABC News, runner, May-July, 1989

Education:
Tufts University, BA in history, 1990
Peking University, studied Chinese language, spring, 1989
Nanjing University, studied Chinese language and culture, fall, 1988 
Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine, Cértificat Elémentaire, 1986

Email: [email protected]

Social Media:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bret-thorn-468b663/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bret.thorn.52
Twitter: @foodwriterdiary
Instagram: @foodwriterdiary

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