95% of all Americans have eaten at Denny’s at least once in their lives, but many hadn’t been there in years. Denny’s was losing them to trendy new breakfast fads. The restaurant needed to remind people how good it felt to eat a real breakfast: two eggs, two strips of bacon, two sausages and two pancakes. So Denny’s invited 300 million Americans to try the Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast again…for free.

On Super Bowl Sunday, the word “Denny’s” was the second most Googled word in the world. It was the number one topic on Twitter. On Free Grand Slam Day 1.7 million people showed up to Denny’s to forget the downward economic trend for a while and laugh with friends and family over a free serious breakfast. The event was featured on more than 2,300 TV news stations and written about in over 500 newspapers. Denny’s got over a thousand thank-you letters and e-mails. Denny’s stock went up $19 million. And since the event, restaurant visits have gone up 10–20%.