IHOP Is Back at Its Coy Name-Change Game Again
Because any publicity is good publicity and repeating the same move twice is even better?
Remember that whole brouhaha (not prouhaha) when IHOP announced, last June, that it was flipping its final letter upside-down to change its name to IHOb -- as a way of calling attention to the addition of a few burgers to its menu?
Well, I guess the restaurant chain formerly known as International House of Pancakes is a glutton for punishment (not bunishment) and publicity (not bublicity, OK, enough) and arguably not too good at coming up with fresh ideas, because it’s at the whole coy name-change thing again.
“What could the P be? Find out June 3. #IHOP,” IHOP tweeted on Memorial Day, while the rest of us were busy barbecuing and spending quality time with our loved ones. Alongside that message was a video in which IHOb became IHOP – and the message “We heard you.”
Wha?
There were some guesses, not all of them safe for work. One acceptably tame one came from Mr. Peanut, who suggested that the P might stand for “PEANUTS.”
“We’re nut telling yet,” IHOP responded. (So maybe … puns?)
“I'm guessing pancakes on burgers... maybe,” wrote one person.
“Probably not… but definitely not definitely not,” IHOP evasively answered.
One person guessed, “Please not this again i can't take it.” Or perhaps that was just a heartfelt plea.
Anyhow, on Tuesday, IHOP put forth a second mystery tweet: “Last year, the Internet had a lot to say about IHOb. Well, we heard you. Stay tuned for June 3. #IHOP.”
“P is for patience as we're almost all out of it,” sniffed one understandably exasperated person.
And then Wednesday: an image featuring a giant barrel of IHOP syrup and a message to Bud Light’s Twitter, suggesting that it has something to do with delivery. (Bud Light had said something about delivery in response to a tweet from DiGiorno Pizza begging, “It better not be pizza.”)
OK, so I guess the big reveal will be about delivery … maybe of pancakes … maybe of pizza?
And maybe it’s really just time to move on from this silliness.
P is for paying attention, which is what we are not doing anymore.
Photo: iStock
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