Denny’s Parts Ways with Gotham, Consolidates Advertising at Erwin Penland

By Kiran Aditham 

Well, the three-year relationship between Denny’s and IPG-owned, New York-based agency Gotham has come to an end. In a pretty self-explanatory statement, Frances Allen, chief brand officer for the 60-year-old diner/casual restaurant chain, says:

“We are very grateful to Gotham. ‘America’s Diner is Always Open’ has reconnected with consumers across America, earning us both an Effie and a Cannes Lion award in the process. We are enormously proud of that work and are thankful to Gotham for their dedication and partnership over the last 3 years.

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All businesses evolve, and Denny’s is no different. Over the last four years we have developed a strong relationship with Erwin Penland through their work on various aspects of our business, and we believe that their ever expanding expertise and unique understanding of the Denny’s brand makes them the right fit as our agency of record going forward. With Erwin Penland we see the opportunity to both consolidate our business for efficiency and enhance our united national and local marketing and advertising efforts, while upholding the high creative standards that have been set by Gotham.”

Gotham initially beat out Erwin Penland (as well as BBDO and KBS+) back in August 2010 for the Denny’s duties, though EP continued partnering with the brand for menus, merchandising and local support. Erwin Penland will now handle both creative and media. As for Gotham, perhaps the agency’s most notable work for Denny’s, from our perspective at least, was the “Always Open” series hosted by David Koechner and featuring a host of famous folks including Jessica Biel, Jason Bateman, Sarah Silverman, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett. You can check out the Poehler clip after the jump if you’d like.


 

 

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