Dive Brief:
- Chili’s Grill & Bar unveiled a new pop-up shop that extends its attacks on rising fast food prices while touting a new Big QP burger, according to a press release.
- Open April 16-17 in New York, the Chili's Fast Food Financing experience emulates a low-rent payday loan retailer, where “approved” visitors receive a gift card to help cover the price of fast food combo meals. The location, strategically placed next to a McDonald’s, also features a speakeasy serving the Big QP.
- Videos promoting the pop-up parody chintzy local TV ads and decry inflation making fast food “just for trillionaires.” Chili’s has seen a sales boost from its bigger focus on value and a revamped food lineup that has appealed to young consumers.
Dive Insight:
Chili’s is building on a combative marketing strategy that has dinged fast food brands for failing to deliver on value amid ongoing inflationary concerns. The chain, which traditionally competes with dine-in restaurants like Applebee’s, has set its sights on bigger fish, including McDonald’s, as it appeals to people feeling a pinch on their wallets when they eat out.
The Chili's Fast Food Financing pop-up brings the pugnacious energy into the experiential realm with a temporary store aping a dingy payday loan shop. The garish exterior is plastered in signs blaring messages like “Now You Can Eat Like a Trillionaire” and “Fast Food Prices are Out of Control! Finance Your Fast Food Today!,” contrasting with a sleek McDonald’s next door. Video content extends the daytime TV aesthetics as a salesperson yells about fast food expenses to a backdrop of over-the-top graphics.
Along with dishing out gift cards, the pop-up location in Manhattan’s Union Square serves the Big QP burger, a menu item intended to unseat the McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. A separate product-focused spot boasts the Big QP burger has “85% more beef than some quarter-pound burger,” juxtaposing the sandwich with a flatter alternative that looks suspiciously like one from the Golden Arches owner. The pop-up was executed by agencies JM&D and M ss ng p eces while the former is behind the ads, which are running on TV, online video and social.
Those who can’t attend Chili's Fast Food Financing experience in person can participate in social giveaways on X, formerly Twitter, for a gift card. Consumers can also “apply for financing” through a campaign microsite that asks questions such as “Do you believe fast food prices are out of control?” and features a mini crossword and maze puzzle.
Chili’s last year debuted a Big Smasher Burger aimed at the Big Mac as part of a 3 For Me value offer that prices a trio of items starting at $10.99. The burger was promoted with a retro-inspired video game that let players “smash” an evil fast food syndicate comprised of fictional rivals.
An aggressive approach to marketing has helped propel momentum for Brinker International-owned Chili’s. Comparable sales for the brand were up 31% year over year in fiscal Q2 2025, buoyed by value-oriented ads and viral menu items like the Triple Dipper.
