Shoney’s is a chain restaurant with hundreds of locations scattered around the southeast, usually around highway exits. For years, Shoney’s has had the reputation for being the restaurant where mostly older people go to eat. A lot of people we talked to have memories of going there as kids with their grandparents. 

Shoney’s came to us wanting a brand refresh. They still wanted to have that “warm, welcoming, All-American family vibe,” but wanted to be the place you can go to satisfy your hunger, no matter what that hunger may be. 

Because of Shoney’s reputation, we knew we had to write a platform that didn’t take itself so seriously, almost as if we were in on the joke. So we wrote, “Get Comfy. It’s Shoney’s.”

Get Comfy. It’s Shoney’s.

Meet Colby.

Colby is the character I created to be the Shoney’s spokesperson. Everyone who has ever worked in the service industry knows someone like Colby. He’s your typical regular. He loves everything Shoney’s, and he’s always there for every meal. In fact, he’s there so much, Shoney’s is like his home. He knows all the managers, servers and chefs by name and acts as if they are all one big Shoney’s family. We also created the recurring character of Heidi The Manager (who’s my favorite character) to act as Colby’s foil. After all, every Costello needs an Abbot. 

We wanted to make Colby a lovable goofball, but not to the point where he came off as annoying and dimwitted. In one spot, he was even quick enough to come up with Shoney’s new tagline off the top of his head. 

Colby introduced himself and the restaurant in the first :30. This was the one that we budgeted for TV. We also created a couple of other spots that were made for social media.