• by Larissa Faw , March 5, 2015

In January, Chili's Grill & Bar introduced two new ribs flavors to its popular and signature Baby Back Ribs menu category – Dr. Pepper and Rahr & Sons. In order to raise awareness, Chili's asked several of their agencies, including IMM, Hill Holliday and The Marketing Arm, to brainstorm something big and out of the box that would bring attention to these ribs. 

Now, to coincide with Chili's 40th birthday on March 13, the chain is bringing back its iconic "Baby Back Ribs" jingle by inviting guests to share their own versions.

Once creators give permission, all videos submitted with the #SingBabyBack hashtag are posted.

Then, on March 13, during what is known as “St. Chilihead Day," Chili’s Grill & Bar will celebrate with an anniversary video featuring submissions from this social activation. 

“Chili's is a community-oriented brand, so this user-generated gallery is a natural complement," says Zach Baze, IMM’s senior vice president, strategy and insights. Executives said it was an easy decision to resurrect the jingle, as it is one of the most recognizable jingles in recent brand history, given its integration into numerous TV programs, movies, as well as Chili’s ads.

IMM’s Chili’s social team spun the huge volume of integrations into additional forms of content such as GIFs, short-form videos and imagery and other platforms such as TVxTwitter.

"Pretty much all of America remembers and loves the Baby Back Ribs jingle," says Matt Ingwalson, Creative Director at IMM. "The performers were strangers who IMM and our production partner, Liquid 9, approached on streets across the U.S. It was inspiring to see how many people knew the song and jumped at the chance to play it. The result is a compelling video that invites and encourage fans across the country to share their version of the Baby Back Ribs jingle with us.”

From a media perspective, the biggest challenge was putting the video in front of an audience that was likely to take action. While demographics were important, it was even more critical to hyper-target behaviors. “We wanted ‘leaned-back’ viewers who were already searching for video and music content, and had the time to take a walk down memory lane," says Melissa Clark, IMM’s senior vice president, media. Ultimately, the media buy will drive more than 1 million views, she said.

“Digital is the ideal channel to replicate the local, community spirit in Chili’s restaurants," says Clark. "This campaign has to reach people — especially music creators — online, where they can immediately take action.”

IMM has been leading Chili's parent company Brinker International’s interactive media, strategy and execution since late 2010.