Denny's 11th-Hour Review Switch

Following the elimination earlier this month of Bernstein-Rein from the $50 million Denny’s Restaurants review, the winner appeared to be one of the three remaining finalists.

But last week, a late entry emerged. Dailey & Associates in West Hollywood, Calif., joined Mullen in Winston-Salem, N.C., Publicis in Mid America in Dallas and Doner in Southfield, Mich., in the final stages of the review.

Dailey is banking on both its restaurant experience and its long- standing ties to Margaret Jenkins, the new chief marketing officer at Denny’s, to win the business, said agency president Brian Morris.

Jenkins, who spent four years as vice president of marketing at fast-food chicken chain El Pollo Loco in Irvine, Calif.,