• by Karl Greenberg , March 5, 2008

Denny's is launching a Web and guerrilla extension of its "Don't Fall for Fake" campaign, launched earlier this year. The new effort aims to get consumers to weigh in on what sort of breakfast they prefer: fast-food style or casual. The effort pitches as authentic the Denny's casual dining experience.

Centered at vote4real.com, the campaign plays off the political scene with an animated video debate, "Great Breakfast Debate of '08," and online voting for consumers' breakfast of choice. The animation has a Denny's plated Grand Slam breakfast behind a podium versus an empty Styrofoam box, which spews gobbledygook to raucous laughter. The effort ends on Nov. 4, when the nation elects, for better or worse, the "real" real thing.

Denny's campaign, "Stand up for Real," gets support from guerrilla efforts in major markets, and interactive efforts and in-store teasers at Denny's franchises nationwide. Denny's staff will wear buttons that say "Cast your vote for real," and diner receipts will bear stickers with the Vote4Real URL. The company reports that it has over 1,500 locations.

The company will have street teams at high-traffic tourist, sporting and political events with select video highlights of activities to be available at vote4real.com. A spokesperson said street teams are handing out coupons for free coffee with purchase of Denny's Grand Slam breakfast. "We have street teams in Texas and Ohio right now," she said Tuesday, referring to the larger state primaries.

The effort, via AOR Dallas-based Publicis Mid America and sibling Publicis PR, also puts election-themed signage (not branded) at intersections near other existing political signs and at Denny's outlets in major markets. There will also be wild postings that say "Stand up for Real" and "Real in '08."

On Independence Day, the company will launch a sweepstakes effort offering a trip for two to Washington, D.C., to attend the presidential inaugural parade next January.

The company's new "Don't Fall for Fake" brand effort, which launched in January, starring "Sopranos" alum Tony Sirico who is pugnacious in the ads. "We are putting a stake in the ground," says the spokesperson. "We are defining a real meal as fresh ingredients, real eggs, real bacon, made to order and served on china."