• by Erin Everhart , Staff Writer, March 28, 2025

It’s funny how certain brands unlock emotional, core memories. Certain brands that can bring you back to a particular time or place in your life. Certain brands that when you relive those moments, you remember every color, every smell, every laugh associated with it.

When you’re in that moment, you never stop and say to yourself, “Wow, I just created a core memory.” That feeling sneaks up on you years later when you get reintroduced to that brand, that brand you haven’t thought about in so long.

For me, one of those brands is Whataburger.

Whataburger brings me back to 2008 when I was a senior at University of Florida. My best friend Nicole and I lived two blocks from the Whataburger on University Avenue. And man did we love that Whataburger. We’d stumble into it after a night out at Gator City and just feast on both Honey Butter Chicken biscuits and french fries, silently thanking the fast-food gods that they served both breakfast and burgers at 2am.

That Whataburger is sadly long gone, but I immediately go back to those nights with Nicole every time I see that orange and white flying W.

This year, Whataburger turns 75, and they are celebrating all year long with activations including weddings in Las Vegas, a Wrangler collaboration, the SXSW Whataburger Museum of Art, and taking over the San Antonio airport for the Final Four.

This week, we sat down with VP of Marketing and Communications Donna Tuttle to hear how Whataburger is leaning into organic community engagement, storytelling, and brand partnerships that feel both fresh and familiar to celebrate their 75 years.

Listen to the entire podcast here. You can also catch Donna as our opening keynote at our QSR Summit next month in Austin, Texas.