Applebee’s signed its multi-year partnership with the National Football League to be its “Official Grill + Bar” in April and now the casual dining chain is poised for Thursday's season kick off with deals and activations. To start, the chain is bringing back 50-cent boneless wings for dine-in and to-go orders for a limited time, featuring six sauce choices, including Classic Buffalo, Honey BBQ, Sweet Asian Chile, Garlic Parmesan, Extra Hot Buffalo or Honey Pepper. Applebee’s previously launched a 50-cent boneless wings promotion in March, which generated traffic lifts that outpaced the casual dining category, executives noted during parent company Dine Brands’ Q1 earnings call in May.
Additionally, Applebee’s is launching a new lineup of limited-time $10 NFL Bucket Cocktails for dine-in guests. The buckets include a Captain’s Kickoff Bucket, featuring Bahama Mama with Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, creme de banana liqueur, grenadine, orange and pineapple juice, and Starry lemon lime soda, and the $10 M.V.Tea Bucket, a Long Island Iced Tea made with Smirnoff Vodka, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum, Crown Royal Canadian Whisky, triple sec, and premium lemon sour topped with Pepsi. Both are served in a 32-ounce bucket decorated with all 32 NFL Football Team logos.
Further, customers will have a chance to win a trip for two to Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9 in New Orleans, as well as other prizes through the Club Applebee’s Super Bowl Sweepstakes, running now through Jan. 5, 2025. Guests can earn entries with every purchase of $10 or more (one per day limit) or by playing the “Kick a Field Goal” digital game, available periodically throughout the season.
“There’s no better way to celebrate the return of football season than with America’s Favorite Boneless Wings for only 50 cents and our new $10 NFL Bucket cocktails,” chief marketing officer Joel Yashinsky said in a statement. “During the off-season we’ve been training to give our guests unbeatable offers and experiences – such as our Club Applebee’s Super Bowl Sweepstakes. Plus, our new integrated advertising campaign features some of the league’s biggest stars.”
Those stars include Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, Philadelphia Eagles running back and two-time Pro-Bowler Saquon Barkley, and San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, who appear in Applebee’s new advertising campaign that begins airing today. The chain is also launching “Pre-Seasoning – An Applebee’s Training Camp,” an eight-part docu-style series following Purdy, Barkley, and Campbell as they “find their place in Applebee’s dining dynasty.” The series, produced by Grey New York, begins airing Sept.10. View the trailer here.
“While Applebee’s is home to all occasions, this social video series is a first, and we know our guests are going to have just as much fun watching, as we had making it. Brock, Saquon, and Dan were amazing partners – and Coach Campbell’s acting skills are second to only his coaching prowess,” Yashinsky said.
Applebee’s partnership with the NFL officially began with the draft April 25-27. Terms of the partnership were not disclosed. During a recent interview, Dine Brands CEO John Peyton said he is optimistic that the company will navigate the “choppy waters” expected throughout the remainder of the year in large part because of its value strategy and its NFL partnership.
“Our strategy extends beyond temporary discounts and focusing on long-term guest satisfaction. We have a deep arsenal of profitable promotions, menu innovation, and marketing campaigns that we can deploy in the near term while remaining focused on sustainable value creation in the long term,” he said. “We’re not losing sight of our North Star, which is having brands where guests come for value. In tough times, they’ll continue to look for us for value. We will not stray from that.”
Contact Alicia Kelso at [email protected]
