I honestly have never seen a broadcast ad for Waffle House. Now I have counted the number of Waffle Houses between New Jersey and Athens, Georgia (35), have seen the Christmas ornament, and believe there is a Lego set in the works, but traditional ads? Waffle House sells itself.
However there they were this week, by virtue of a star quarterback stopping by, front and center in every viral video tied to the NFL. Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence with a late night stop after leading his team to a playoff win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The clips were not of a well timed promotion, they were quick poses augmented by Lawrence’s social feed, that quickly exploded and got the chain hours of special coverage. It reminded me of Giannis Antetounmpo’s post NBA title stop by at Chick Fil A, which that savvy marketing brand turned into its own promotion.
For Waffle House, it looks like they let the clips stand on their own. Yes they have a twitter feed with 127,000 followers, but it hasn’t had any posts since the holidays…no mention of a QB stopping in or resharing of its employees posts.
A silent night.
Now is it a lost opportunity? Is there maybe something in the works? Hard to say as there wasn’t much talk from the company about the Lawrence visit, they seem to have let it stand on its own, which says a great deal about what a true viral moment looks like.
Unplanned, played its course, got its exposure and the world moves on.
Just like what late night visitors who aren’t an NFL QB do when they stop in.
Regardless of where it goes, Waffle House got a great tip,
