IHOP announced the debut of its new “Fan Cakes” video series featuring student-athletes from universities across the country talking about their favorite pancake stacks. This fall, IHOP partnered with eight college football players who visited restaurants near their campuses and sampled an assortment of pancakes to pick their favorite as their personal Fan Cake. The first video debuts today at ihop.com/fancakes and stars University of Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell (LB) and his Cinn-A-Stack Fan Cakes. All winning Fan Cakes will be featured on the IHOP.com menu and at participating restaurants nationwide for purchase through December 31, 2023.
Pancake lovers and college fans alike can visit their local IHOP to try the favorite stack of their home team football players, including:
- University of Alabama – Jihaad Campbell, Cinn-A-Stack
- University of Arizona – Ephesians Prysock, Cinn-A-Stack
- Boston College – Drew Kendall, Mexican Tres Leches
- University of Colorado – Cam’Ron Silmon-Craig, Strawberry Banana Protein Pancake
- University of Florida – Roderick Kearney, Cinn-A-Stack
- Purdue University – Devin Mockobee, Chocolate Chocolate Chip Pancake
- Texas A&M University – Kam Dewberry, Cinn-A-Stack
- University of Washington – Landen Hatchett, Cinn-A-Stack
“Our IHOP restaurants are a fantastic destination for students and fans to gather pre- or post-game for a meal together. We can’t think of a better way to bring college football fans to the table than by sharing the stories – and pancakes – of their favorite student-athletes,” says Kieran Donahue, Chief Marketing Officer, IHOP. “We are on a mission to spread more joy every day by encouraging guests in each of the eight regions to visit their local IHOP to try their players’ Fan Cake. From quality, fresh menu options to exciting value offers, we have everything fans need to celebrate their favorite college football team, win or lose.”
The campaign was developed in partnership with LEARFIELD – the leading media and technology company powering college athletics – and its original and branded content division LEARFIELD Studios, which produced the video series. Opendorse, LEARFIELD’s NIL marketplace provider, sourced the student-athletes, executed agreements and coordinated participants’ shoot schedules. Fans will get to know the distinctive personalities of their favorite student-athletes who share their candid thoughts on their pancake preferences as well as their passion for the game and their connection to their college community.
“We are proud to collaborate with IHOP on this new campaign that features some of the nation’s top student-athletes to create deeper connections between the iconic restaurant and loyal college football fans,” says Roy Seinfeld, Senior Vice President of National Sales, LEARFIELD. “By facilitating the use of school brands with student-athlete NIL, we are excited to help deliver creative ‘Fan Cake’ content and fan engagement opportunities for IHOP.”
