• Ad Age, Wednesday, February 4, 2009 10:45 AM

Denny's says its free-breakfast offer -- made in its first-ever Super Bowl spot Sunday -- surpassed its estimate that it would serve up to 2 million people during Tuesday's eight-hour Grand Slam giveaway. "We thought we were going to have a great day," says VP-marketing John Dillon, "and we had an awesome day."

The Denny's Grand Slam meal consists of two pancakes, two eggs, two sausage links and two pieces of bacon. The company estimates that the entire promotion -- from Super Bowl ad buy to food costs -- will total about $5 million, Emily Bryson York reports.

Denny's is on a mission to revive the sit-down breakfast. The Grand Slam breakfasts are its best-selling item, with about 12.5 million served each year. The promotion appears to have been effective based on most accepted ROI measures. Two million-plus breakfasts easily exceeds the 1% benchmark of giveaway success.

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