Social media has been buzzing ever since IHOP announced it would be changing its name and now the wait for the big reveal is finally over.
IHOP said on Monday that it’s temporarily changing its branding because the B stands for burgers.
It’s only a marketing campaign. IHOP isn’t changing its name. But the chain of breakfast diners took social media by storm last week with the cryptic announcement that it was flipping the lowercase “p” in its logo and making it a “b.”
IHOP, of course, stands for International House of Pancakes. But IHOP — sorry, IHOb — wants to be known as a place to get lunch and dinner, not just breakfast and brunch. It’s adding several burgers to its menu, including a Big Brunch burger with bacon, a fried egg and browned potato on top.
Dear Internet, we abbreciate your batience. Now let’s see who guessed right. B-hold!!!!! #IHOb pic.twitter.com/Fh3SkZ7s3Y
— IHOP (@IHOP) June 11, 2018
“We are definitely going to be IHOP,” Darren Rebelez, president of IHOP, told CNNMoney. “But we want to convey that we are taking our burgers as seriously as our pancakes.”
An IHOP in Hollywood is getting new IHOb signs, and some others might get the treatment. The new IHOb Twitter account even retweeted photos and video of a construction crew putting up the new sign in LA.
But Rebelez said the vast majority of the nearly 1,800 other locations will still go by IHOP.
So, to use another B-word, will there be a backlash?
Rebelez isn’t worried that people will be disappointed. He said some people were upset that IHOP would even consider tinkering with the name. But most fans figured out it was just a way to get people talking.
That clearly worked.
Your marketing team needs to be fired…ASAP.
— Nicole (@Littlebethell) June 11, 2018
— Charlie Ricker (@ByCharlieRicker) June 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/alliecaroline95/status/1006147329978720257
— trey wingo (@wingoz) June 11, 2018
The mystery of IHOb is solved.
This is a joke, right?
— Jennifer Cannon (@JenCMeyer13) June 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/Brendanbreslin/status/1006146689110020101
Why not International House of Breakfast?
— Andrew Shaw (@A_Shaw00) June 11, 2018