Variety is exclusively reporting that Canadian rockers, Loverboy, have reimagined one of their classic '80s videos for a new IHOP (International House Of Pancakes) campaign.
It’s fair to say that anyone who remembers the video for Loverboy’s smash single “Working For The Weekend” was probably around for the early days of MTV, when the group was transformed into superstars overnight thanks to heavy rotation on the culture-shifting new cultural cable channel. Powered by that single and others, the red-clad, headbanded group’s Get Lucky album went quadruple platinum in the US, and the band’s hot streak continued for two more multiplatinum albums and hits like “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” and “Hot Girls In Love” before tailing off toward the end of the decade.
Yet Loverboy’s hits remain rock-radio staples, so when Loverboy manager Jonathan Wolfson got the call from Sony Music Publishing creative James Armstrong that IHOP wanted to use their song “Working For The Weekend” to promote their new weekday $6 House Faves menu, he immediately took the request to the band.
“I was a little nervous about doing a campaign for a restaurant, but it is one of my favorites,” admits Loverboy singer and co-founder Mike Reno. “Who doesn’t like pancakes, right?”
Guitarist Paul Dean recalls hitting IHOPs multiple times while the band was touring with Sammy Hagar back in the day. “It’s just a natural thing for us,” he says. “They’re everywhere and so are we. When the offer came through, I just thought, ‘perfect.’”
This isn’t the first time Loverboy songs have been used in national campaigns. “Working For The Weekend” was previously used in an ‘80s-themed spot during the 2014 Super Bowl for Radio Shack, while “Lovin’ Every Minute Of It” soundtracked a 2016 National Car Rental spot featuring Patrick Warburton of “Tick” and “Seinfeld” fame.
“For me, it’s all about the marketing,” says Reno. “This song just doesn’t quit. We wrote it 45 years ago! It’s like the little engine that just keeps on going.” And, he notes, “We did it with a total tongue-in-cheek attitude.”
Check out the ad below, and read the full report at Variety.
