Denny’s is actively inviting customers to be critics at its newest Canadian concept restaurant.

In April, the chain of diner-style restaurants turned one of its Vancouver locations into a test kitchen, where customers have the chance to try new menu items and offer feedback, shaping if and how the meals are rolled out across the country.

“There’s no better way to shape the future of our menu than by inviting our community to give their unfiltered opinions on which dishes live up to the test,” says Deborah Gagnon, president and COO of Denny’s Canada. The restaurant appreciates its guest’s hot takes and prides itself on having a menu item for everyone, and testing those new items is a priority as it expands its menu into dayparts outside of the breakfast and late-night meals it is best known for.

To bring people into the test kitchen, Vancouver-based agency Full Punch created an awareness campaign, appropriately titled “Critic,” that taps into peoples’ inner foodie. The creative encourages people to give their unfiltered opinion, whether it is a 2.5 or 10 out of 10, tapping into the fact that food is one thing that most people have strongly held opinions on.

Mike Leslie, partner and president of Full Punch, tells strategy that this campaign is about driving the test concept kitchen in Vancouver, and not a reflection of a broader brand campaign or positioning for Denny’s Canada, though the company does have plans to launch more test kitchen concepts over the coming year.

Leslie says that Denny’s is “Canada’s diner” and that as such, it attracts a diverse audience, all of whom are reflected in the campaign alongside a message of empowerment. In addition to expanding its menu, Denny’s is also looking to skew its marketing to a slightly younger diner with the campaign’s playful tone of voice.

The campaign is running in localized OOH, digital and social in downtown Vancouver. There are also in-store assets too, like table talkers and take-out bags, featuring a QR code driving to a site where customers can provide their feedback.

Denny’s operates around 70 locations in Canada, with 47 of them operating in British Columbia.

Pomp & Circumstance provided PR support.