• by Teresa Buyikian , November 20, 2023

There are frugal people. Then there are the Hearns.

Featured on the TLC reality series “Extreme Cheapskates,” Karen and Grant Hearn have become online sensations with their money-saving ways, which include treating bug bites with pickles and at-home dentistry (a YouTube clip of Grant extracting his wife’s tooth himself has over 4 million views).

Thus the penny-pinching Hearns were cast as the spokespeople for A&W Restaurant’s new money-saving loyalty program, Rooty’s Mug Club. Created by ad agency Cornett, the campaign depicts the famously thrifty couple in several online videos, giving a nod to their most famous clips while promoting the new loyalty program.

In the first :30 online video, which can be seen here, the Hearns sit inside an A&W Restaurant, Karen with an icepack strapped to her face and Grant holding pilers with an extracted tooth. Grant goes on to talk about Rooty’s Mug Club, and how the club is perfect for cheapskates like themselves with “exclusive deals on all-American classics,” and Karen pipes in with “and a free root beer float just for signing up!” Grant continues “With all the money you’ll save, you’ll be able to save on extravagant luxuries.” “Like professional dentistry,” adds Karen.

“Karen and Grant Hearn are obviously experts when it comes to finding the best deals,” said Liz Bazner, senior director of marketing for A&W Restaurants, “so they’re the perfect spokespeople for Rooty’s Mug Club.”

A second video shows the couple taping pickles to themselves, with Grant bemoaning the cost of tape. A third highlights $1 off the chain’s cheese curds, with Grant inquiring, “We don’t have to pay for this, do we?”

Rooty’s Mug Club loyalty program members will receive exclusive deals via text and email, in addition to the free root beer float for signing up and another free float every year on members’ birthdays.