You know you are getting old when:

[tonyb]

You know that Applebee’s TV commercial featuring snippets of fans’ amateur videos of themselves dancing to that catchy “Fancy Like” song?

Walker Hayes, the fellow who performs and co-wrote the tune, and who choreographed the dance along with his 15-year-old daughter, refers to the dance as “wholesome” fun.

Times have changed. I clearly recall when all that hip thrusting would have been deemed anything but wholesome, and when no business looking to attract the general population would have associated itself with it.

 

[Zombie_61]

You know that Applebee’s TV commercial featuring snippets of fans’ amateur videos of themselves dancing to that catchy “Fancy Like” song?

Walker Hayes, the fellow who performs and co-wrote the tune, and who choreographed the dance along with his 15-year-old daughter, refers to the dance as “wholesome” fun.

Times have changed. I clearly recall when all that hip thrusting would have been deemed anything but wholesome, and when no business looking to attract the general population would have associated itself with it.

When I first saw those commercials I thought The Suits at Dine Brands Global (parent company for Applebee's and IHOP) wrote themselves part of a phony baloney country song, then filmed a bunch of "unknowns" dressed as country bumpkins dancing to it. When I found out it was an actual song it took a while for me to wrap my mind around Walker Hayes, or anyone, thinking Applebee's was a "fancy" restaurant. But I have to admit, the people dancing in those commercials seemed to be having fun so I give credit to the people who made them for getting that feeling across.

 

[belfastboy]

You know that Applebee’s TV commercial featuring snippets of fans’ amateur videos of themselves dancing to that catchy “Fancy Like” song?

Walker Hayes, the fellow who performs and co-wrote the tune, and who choreographed the dance along with his 15-year-old daughter, refers to the dance as “wholesome” fun.

Times have changed. I clearly recall when all that hip thrusting would have been deemed anything but wholesome, and when no business looking to attract the general population would have associated itself with it.

Those adds never made it to Canada. But then our local Applebees closed about two years ago and I think it was the last in these parts.....mostly I think because the food sucked. The market niche of casual dining (but not fast food) is a popular and crowded segment around here with many local or Western Canadian chains serving decent food very well, except they are geared towards the young and the music is so loud us old folks who want to eat and talk just can't make it work.

 

[tonyb]

When I first saw those commercials I thought The Suits at Dine Brands Global (parent company for Applebee's and IHOP) wrote themselves part of a phony baloney country song, then filmed a bunch of "unknowns" dressed as country bumpkins dancing to it. When I found out it was an actual song it took a while for me to wrap my mind around Walker Hayes, or anyone, thinking Applebee's was a "fancy" restaurant. But I have to admit, the people dancing in those commercials seemed to be having fun so I give credit to the people who made them for getting that feeling across.

I had similar thoughts. I, too, was unfamiliar with the song, seeing how I pay very little attention to recently minted popular music of any genre these days.

But the song itself can be taken as a good-natured jab at white (mostly) working-class culture. I can’t say it was necessarily meant to be that, but reading the lyrics leaves a person wondering how it couldn’t be at least partly that. It certainly gives a nod to rap as well.

“Fancy” like Applebee’s on payday, is contrasted with the more de classe practice of dipping fries in a Frosty at Wendy’s. (Uh-huh. No metaphor there. Nope.)

And then there’s “Bougie like Natty” (Busch Natural Light beer; I looked it up) “in styrofoam, squeak-squeaking in the truck bed all the way home.”

A down-market beer in a cheap styrofoam cooler. In the truck bed. Bougie.

 

[tonyb]

Those adds never made it to Canada. But then our local Applebees closed about two years ago and I think it was the last in these parts.....mostly I think because the food sucked. The market niche of casual dining (but not fast food) is a popular and crowded segment around here with many local or Western Canadian chains serving decent food very well, except they are geared towards the young and the music is so loud us old folks who want to eat and talk just can't make it work.

I’ve never been in an Applebee’s. Ain’t saying I wouldn’t, if I was on the road, say, and hungry and it was the only place other than a fast-food drive-thru open at that hour.

 

[Harp]

except they are geared towards the young and the music is so loud us old folks who want to eat and talk just can't make it work.

I always recommend a local establishment, Petey's Bungalow-looks like a Chicaogo bungalow house,
comes with a bar and the dining floor quite suitable for a snug fit, and, I add that a couple can converse
there since the music is strictly leashed backyard dog not barking in your face.

 

[Zombie_61]

...our local Applebees closed about two years ago and I think it was the last in these parts.....mostly I think because the food sucked...

So they're no better north of the border. Got it.

...The market niche of casual dining (but not fast food) is a popular and crowded segment around here with many local or Western Canadian chains serving decent food very well, except they are geared towards the young and the music is so loud us old folks who want to eat and talk just can't make it work.

There are a number of those restaurant chains here in the U.S.. Red Robin comes to mind at the moment--it's like eating in an almost empty warehouse, so there's nothing to buffer the sounds and you can hear every conversation at every table until someone drops a few bucks into the jukebox.

...But the song itself can be taken as a good-natured jab at white (mostly) working-class culture. I can’t say it was necessarily meant to be that, but reading the lyrics leaves a person wondering how it couldn’t be at least partly that. It certainly gives a nod to rap as well...

Once I found out the song wasn't actually produced by Applebee's one of my first thoughts was that Walker Hayes wrote the song with them in mind thinking they would pay him to use it in their commercials. Which, of course, is what happened. And, apparently, he and his wife choreographed that little dance everyone in the commercials is doing.

I’ve never been in an Applebee’s. Ain’t saying I wouldn’t, if I was on the road, say, and hungry and it was the only place other than a fast-food drive-thru open at that hour.

I'd say don't go out of your way unless you're really curious; I'm not a fan. The only reason I've been more than once is because my wife liked to eat there, and after the last couple of times even she was disappointed and hasn't wanted to go back.

 

[tonyb]

I'm a bit lost as to whatever point the writer (below) is trying to make. In one breath she says the song is a contrived hit made in what amounts to a song-writing factory, hitting as many "down home" tropes as could be packed in, and in the next she acknowledges that the tune was out in the world, and fans were making their own amateur videos of themselves dancing to it (TikTok, you understand) before Applebee's picked it up. The chain brought back the Oreo shake it had discontinued last year, seeing how it's referenced in the song.

The phenomenon is considerably more "organic" than this writer would suggest. And again, it owes more than a little to rap.

https://www.eater.com/22683873/walker-hayes-fancy-like-applebees-tik-tok-hit

 

[Zombie_61]

I'm a bit lost as to whatever point the writer (below) is trying to make. In one breath she says the song is a contrived hit made in what amounts to a song-writing factory, hitting as many "down home" tropes as could be packed in, and in the next she acknowledges that the tune was out in the world, and fans were making their own amateur videos of themselves dancing to it (TikTok, you understand) before Applebee's picked it up. The chain brought back the Oreo shake it had discontinued last year, seeing how it's referenced in the song.

The phenomenon is considerably more "organic" than this writer would suggest. And again, it owes more than a little to rap.

https://www.eater.com/22683873/walker-hayes-fancy-like-applebees-tik-tok-hit

I'm guessing the TikTok videos is how the song came to the attention of The Suits in the first place. I watched and listened to the video posted on that page; it was the first time I'd heard more of the song than was used in the commercials. It's not horrible and has more of that "country" music sound from decades ago than most modern country songs, but...ehhh...I don't know about Walker Hayes.

 

[belfastboy]

I’ve never been in an Applebee’s. Ain’t saying I wouldn’t, if I was on the road, say, and hungry and it was the only place other than a fast-food drive-thru open at that hour.

My work took me to pulp mill and mining towns in the northern reaches of my province for many many years. The food always sucked with the worst being the always available Chinese Food joint with a buffet. In one of the larger towns a branch of a province wide chain called 'Earls" opened up and it was god sent.....finally in at least one town I could get a decent meal each night for the 5 nights I was marooned there.

 

[Tiki Tom]

Sheesh. Am I getting old, or what? I have no idea what y’all are going on about. I guess I’ll have to google the commercial and the song.

Say, is that what they intended all along? Is this what the marketing types used to call creating a buzz? If their target is Fedora Lounge lurkers, God help ‘em.

 

[tonyb]

Sheesh. Am I getting old, or what? I have no idea what y’all are going on about. I guess I’ll have to google the commercial and the song.

Say, is that what they intended all along? Is this what the marketing types used to call creating a buzz? If their target is Fedora Lounge lurkers, God help ‘em.

It’s a lesson in how pop culture works these days. It has been for me, anyway. Prior to this, I was as unfamiliar with TikTok as GW Bush was with “the Google” in 2006.

All that aside, the song wouldn’t be a hit if it weren’t a real, real catchy tune. It ain’t all marketing. You still gotta have something to bring to market.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I used to eat at our local Applebees quite a bit before the Unpleasantness because a good friend was a waitress there and she could use the tips. They actually make a pretty good bacon cheeseburger, and if that's all you're looking for, it's as good as anything else you're going to find in a lot next to a Hampton Inn. But I have no idea what this song is supposed to be about -- obviously mine, being strictly Northeastern in origin, is the wrong kind of white working class culture. Yee haw.

 

[Fifty150]

I live in San Francisco. Chain restaurants just don't open here. I have never had Applebee's.

 

[tonyb]

I used to eat at our local Applebees quite a bit before the Unpleasantness because a good friend was a waitress there and she could use the tips. They actually make a pretty good bacon cheeseburger, and if that's all you're looking for, it's as good as anything else you're going to find in a lot next to a Hampton Inn. But I have no idea what this song is supposed to be about -- obviously mine, being strictly Northeastern in origin, is the wrong kind of white working class culture. Yee haw.

There are still some regionalisms, I s’pose. I used to think that all you’d have to do is change the vegetation and a commercial strip in Miami wouldn’t differ much from one in Missoula. That’s still kind of true. We have a Hampton Inn and a couple Extended Stay Americas and a Motel 6 and a few more hostelries and at least half a dozen chain restaurants (including an Applebee’s) within half a mile of my sleepy little generic suburban subdivision. All that can be attributed mostly to ready freeway and light-rail access, and being 20 minutes from the airport and less than that from what’s called the Denver Tech Center, which is a conglomeration of mid-rise office buildings, where many a business traveler does business.

If, on reading the lyrics, you’re not left thinking the songwriters were poking a little good-natured fun at themselves, well, you’d be reading it differently than I do. It’s almost a parody.

 

[Fifty150]

The song has an audience of people who could relate to the lyrics. While some people may not drink that brand of beer, or enjoy their disposable income at Applebee's on payday; there are people who do. There's a market for everything. There may be parts of the world where Applebee's is the place for a night out and a good meal. Just as I've lived in places where Waffle House was the "go to".

 

[tonyb]

I can’t help but think that even self-identified rednecks would find it a mild satire on redneck culture. As with any other identity group, rednecks are granted greater latitude in making observations on their own. And the rest of us get to laugh along with them.

 

[belfastboy]

The song has an audience of people who could relate to the lyrics. While some people may not drink that brand of beer, or enjoy their disposable income at Applebee's on payday; there are people who do. There's a market for everything. There may be parts of the world where Applebee's is the place for a night out and a good meal. Just as I've lived in places where Waffle House was the "go to".

I love the Waffle House!!

 

[belfastboy]

OK, somebody owes me......I have been dancing around the house for the past half hour singing this song......my wife has left the room maybe the house......I have stopped singing but can't get it out of my head.

 

[Haversack]

Speaking of Canadian chain restaurants, is The White Spot still in business? Back in the '90s, they seemed to be everywhere north of the border. I ate at a couple of them back when I was driving up the Cariboo every year and my impression of their food was that it gave a new definition to 'bland'. Not bad, but no flavour whatsoever. The cheeseburger and the vanilla milkshake tasted the same, (different textures, mind). The only thing on the platter that had a modicum of flavour was the deep-fried zucchini. On the other hand, Hungry Herbie's in Cache Creek is all one could want in a roadside hamburger joint.