Hooters restaurants, long recognized for their sexy waitresses in low-cut tops, hot wings and predominantly male clientele, are looking to revamp their image and lure in more women as loyal diners.
The move comes as Hooters is executing a three- to five-year plan to revitalize the brand, and part of that plan is to appeal to a broader, younger audience that includes women.
The first generation of Hooters' new restaurant experiment opened in Atlanta -- the hometown of Hooters headquarters -- in February. According to the company, the location is serving as a test store for new menu items and product development.
Hooters unveiled new menu items last week that include nearly 30 salads, burgers and more varieties of chicken wings.
"Historically the lion's share (of the brand's) position was all about the girls," said CMO Dave Henninger, according to NBC. "It's worked relatively well, but we see ourselves in a bigger place than that." Make no mistake, though, the girls and their orange shorts aren't going anywhere, he said. The chain's tagline is now "Feed the dream."
The chain will also remodel up to 25 locations each year with a more contemporary look.
H ooters is one of the oldest and certainly the most iconic of so-called "breastaurant" chains, which are seeing a boom in popularity with little sign of slowing. Other franchises similar to Hooters are Twin Peaks and Tilted Kilt.
According to the report, the marketing campaign will encompass TV spots, social-media efforts, billboards and radio. The TV portion of the campaign will initially include buys on ESPN channels, as well as Fox channels such as Fox Sports. Henninger said that the first phase of the TV campaign will be directed at networks that have a heavily male audience, and also a growing female audience. Next year the chain will branch out in its TV buys, and ESPN football analyst Jon Gruden will appear in ads this fall.
Watch the new ad for Hooters below:
