Village Inn Restaurants announced the launch of a campaign to rescue hungry diners from the many inconveniences that have become the accepted realities of the current brunch trend.

Village Inn’s Anti-Brunch campaign, created in partnership with Colorado-based agency WorkInProgress, takes aim at some of the ridiculousness associated with today’s brunch experience including high prices, snooty servers, acquired-taste menus with difficult-to-pronounce ingredients, and long waiting lines stretching outside the door and down the sidewalk. The series of television, radio and digital/social video ads present Village Inn as the obvious antidote and alternative to the mid-morning madness associated with the modern-day brunch.

“The Anti-Brunch campaign pokes a little fun at the current brunch trends that have grown popular over the last several years,” says David Craven, Vice President for Marketing and Culinary for Village Inn. “We’re dedicating our latest marketing effort to save local brunch patrons from the agony of long lines, welcoming them back to our restaurants and reminding them that, while brunch is trendy, it doesn’t have to cost a fortune and a just-as-delicious breakfast is ready at Village Inn right now.”

The campaign launched with Village Inn sending Roy, a self-proclaimed “breakfast enthusiast,” out in his van to “save” local Denver brunch patrons from the ridiculously long brunch lines and took them to the nearest Village Inn for a delicious breakfast with trendy breakfast foods, like eggs, bacon, and pancakes. To extend the story, there is a paid media campaign supported by a variety of content for TV and digital video. The spots range from saving people from brunch, questioning the wait, and poking fun at trendy and overpriced brunch items. A video of the activation promoting the Anti-Brunch message is currently running online (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) with television and radio spots running now in Village Inn’s core markets. 

“Will we stop everyone from going to brunch? No,” says Matt Talbot, partner and creative at WorkInProgress. “But if we can save even one person from a 2-hour wait and $30 avocado toast, it’s all been worth it.”