Applebee's Doubles Down on Cheese With the 'O-M-Cheese-adilla' After a 9-Billion-Impression Hit
TL;DR: Applebee's has expanded one viral burger into a full 'O-M-Cheese' menu platform, adding the O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger after the original became its most-ordered burger and drove 9 billion-plus impressions.
From One Burger to a Platform
Applebee's expanded its 'O-M-Cheese' line on 17 September 2026, anchoring it with a new O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger. The original O-M-Cheese Burger launched in January 2026 at $11.99 within the 2 for $25 deal and became Applebee's most-ordered burger within months.
Rather than let a hit fade, the chain is treating it as a durable brand platform — a reusable idea it can extend, not a one-off limited-time offer.
The Numbers Behind the Meme
The original generated more than 9 billion impressions, reached 96 million people, and drove nearly 80 times more organic views than traditional campaigns. CMO Michelle Chin led the strategy, with former NFL star Marshawn Lynch as brand ambassador.
Those are earned-media figures most casual-dining budgets can't buy — which is precisely why Applebee's is building on the equity rather than moving on.
Ownable Food as Brand Equity
Casual and quick-service chains increasingly build brand equity around a single, ownable food idea — a memeable product that lives natively on social — instead of a churn of unrelated LTOs. The O-M-Cheese name is doing the work a tagline used to.
It is cheaper and stickier: each extension refreshes the same recognisable asset rather than starting brand-building from zero.
Marketing Minute's Take
The discipline here is restraint disguised as indulgence. Applebee's found one ownable, repeatable idea and is compounding it, instead of chasing the next viral moment. For any food brand, the lesson is to treat a breakout product like a platform: name it, extend it, and let the recognition do the marketing.
Quick FAQ
What is Applebee's 'O-M-Cheese' platform?
A menu platform built around the viral O-M-Cheese Burger, now expanded with the O-M-Cheese-adilla Burger, treating a breakout product as a durable brand platform rather than a one-off LTO.
How successful was the original O-M-Cheese Burger?
It became Applebee's most-ordered burger within months of its January 2026 launch and generated more than 9 billion impressions, reaching 96 million people.
Why are chains building 'food platforms'?
An ownable, memeable product that lives natively on social builds brand equity more cheaply and stickily than a churn of unrelated limited-time offers.
The clever part is restraint dressed up as indulgence. Applebee's found one ownable idea and is compounding it, rather than chasing the next viral flash. Treat a breakout product like a platform — name it, extend it, and let the recognition carry the marketing. That's how a meme becomes an asset. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
The takeaway: treat a breakout product like a platform — name it, extend it and compound the recognition, rather than chasing the next one-off hit.
Do you have one ownable product idea you could compound, instead of a churn of LTOs?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Marketing Dive, Restaurant Dive.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
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