Brands are increasingly dressing their ads up as entertainment rather than interruptions, and BarkleyOKRP's work for Denny's is a prime example: the "Welcome to Denny's" campaign recreates the warm, laugh-tracked feel of a '90s sitcom, complete with recurring "characters" like the booth, the night owls, and influencer guest stars like the McFarland family.

Denny's VP of brand strategy Meredith Thornton says the nostalgia-driven format has made the campaign feel distinctly ownable for the brand. Other marketers are chasing the same instinct — JCPenney and agency Mischief built "Retail Rejuvenation," a reality-TV-style spot casting real shoppers instead of actors, while Skittles rolled out a TikTok sitcom and Johnston & Murphy parodied SportsCenter.

The throughline, according to marketing strategist Sam Ogborn, is that attention spans are so short brands have to disguise themselves as content people actually want to watch rather than ads they're forced to sit through. For JCPenney, the approach is already showing results, with video completion rates in the high 90s.

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