I keep seeing new Applebee’s spots pushing that “It’s a whole new neighborhood” and it gives me a smidgen of hope that Applebees hasn’t completely gone down the toilet. Not that i’m pulling for Applebee’s per se, but at a time when many restaurants, including some big chains, are closing doors, I’m curious to see what comes from those that are still sticking it out.

And after the Wanda Sykes Apple thing, just about any campaign for Applebee’s is probably a turn in the right direction.

So what does Applebee’s turn to? The same thing every other company, business, and advertiser is turning to these days: YouTube.

They’re promoting the concept of a “whole new neighborhood” which apparently revolves around buying clips off of youtube to create a montage of “Applebee’s moments,” throwing it up on a website which they’re creatively dubbing “Real Videos,” and soliciting more videos/material. It’s nothing earth-shattering and isn’t conceptually outstanding, but it seems to be a solid message for a company like Applebee’s, and is actually drawing a bit of web traffic (most likely because of the website plug at the end of the TV spots).

The site is simple but fairly effective if you’re into watching youtube clips of people hanging out at Applebee’s. So besides the issues of one more company capitalizing on and twisting YouTube, one has to ask if videos of people chillin’ at Applebee’s makes you want to actually go eat there.

Time may tell, but no matter how formulaic and lackluster, I doubt it will have the same effect as the Wanda Sykes spot. Not that that’s a bad thing.

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