• by Fern Siegel , February 24, 2025

Cinnabon, known for its hot cinnamon rolls, has focused its social-first campaign on the Churro.

In the creative by Chemistry, a menu item wants visibility. The Churro emerges from the shadows — as the “Churrobon,” an edgy, dark alternative to the Cinnabon.

Cinnabon approached Chemistry about the project as part of a multi-agency pitch, which it won in December 2024.

“As part of its growth strategy, Cinnabon is shifting from its core audience to attract the next generation of Cinnabon fans. U.S. malls are making a comeback, due in part to a surge in Gen Z shoppers. Since Gen Z lives and breathes social media, Cinnabon is investing in its organic social channels to attract this new audience,” Mike Groenewald, executive creative director, Chemistry, told Agency Daily.

In early February, a post appeared on Cinnabon’s Instagram account, alerting followers that a churro “fan” page was pretending to be an official Cinnabon account. The post asked followers not to engage with @churrobon. In just over two weeks, it received over 12,000 likes and almost 130 comments. This attention followed a series of rogue posts on the Cinnabon account from Churro.

Shortly afterwards, @churrobon, a “burner account,” started trolling Cinnabon. Edgy phrases, such as “from the churro comes the chaos,” were posted. Each time Cinnabon posts Churro content, @churrobon will repurpose said posts.

“Gen Z has adopted a phenomenon known as little-treat culture — the practice of indulging in small, affordable pleasures, often as a way to cope with stress or celebrate — that paired with their love of delightfully unhinged brand behavior. The campaign needed a fundamental shift. So we set out to create an original approach that comes from a place of authenticity and entertainment. It showed Gen Z that Cinnabon may not just be the sweet, little mall snack they think they know,” added Groenewald.

Chemistry is currently the AOR social agency for the seven GoTo Foods brands:  Auntie Anne's, Carvel, Cinnabon, Jamba, McAlister's Deli, Moe’s Southwest Grill and Schlotzsky's.