Cliche or Comfort? Denny's Diner Ad Campaign Pours on the Syrup

With a series of new "dinersodes" -- television ads featuring Denny's customers seated at counters and interacting with servers who could be straight out of Waitress or It Could Happen to You -- the restaurant chain's ad agency seeks to connect with its customers who are looking for something more from their breakfast: friends, maybe, or nostalgia, or a cute nickname. One dinersode commercial pokes kind fun at the cliche of waitresses calling customers by diminutives. In this commercial, each customer has his or her own pet name -- "hon," "sweetie," "cupcake," "sugar britches." At the end, Denny's new slogan is invoked: "America's diner is always open."