IHOP goes IHOb because pancakes aren't enough

The mystery of IHOb is solved.

IHOP said on Monday that it's temporarily changing its branding because the B stands for burgers.

It's only a marketing campaign. IHOP isn't changing its name. But the chain of breakfast diners took social media by storm last week with the cryptic announcement that it was flipping the lowercase "p" in its logo and making it a "b."

IHOP, of course, stands for International House of Pancakes. But IHOP — sorry, IHOb — wants to be known as a place to get lunch and dinner, not just breakfast and brunch. It's adding several burgers to its menu, including a Big Brunch burger with bacon, a fried egg and browned potato on top.

Dear Internet, we abbreciate your batience. Now let's see who guessed right. B-hold!!!!! #IHOb pic.twitter.com/Fh3SkZ7s3Y — IHOb (@IHOb) June 11, 2018

"We are definitely going to be IHOP," Darren Rebelez, president of IHOP, told CNNMoney. "But we want to convey that we are taking our burgers as seriously as our pancakes."

An IHOP in Hollywood is getting new IHOb signs, and some others might get the treatment. The new IHOb Twitter account even retweeted photos and video of a construction crew putting up the new sign in LA.

But Rebelez said the vast majority of the nearly 1,800 other locations will still go by IHOP.

So, to use another B-word, will there be a backlash?

Some people correctly predicted it would stand for burgers, but many others on Twitter and Facebook thought the B would stand for breakfast or bacon.

Others had more fun, speculating that the B stood for bitcoin or break dancing.

Chiquita even got in on the act, saying that the B should stand for bananas.

Others noted that the Ob in the IHOb logo looked extremely similar to the O.B. brand of tampons.

Well I don't know about you but nothing like the new logo that looks like a tampon brand to make me hungry for flapjacks! #IHOb Just sloppy management pic.twitter.com/eum338fj81 — G (@momomiester) June 7, 2018

Rebelez isn't worried that people will be disappointed. He said some people were upset that IHOP would even consider tinkering with the name. But most fans figured out it was just a way to get people talking.

That clearly worked.

"The vast majority of people were having fun with the name change and were trying to solve the riddle. They had fun for a week trying to figure it out," Rebelez said.

America loves burgers, and IHOP wants to be a bigger player at lunch and dinner.

When I asked Rebelez whether IHOP was considering food-fusion menu items — remember Burger King's Whopperito or Taco Bell's Nacho Fries? — he joked that diners could order a side of flapjacks and make their own pancake burger.

Still, it's worth wondering why IHOP is going through all this trouble. Why mess with a good thing?

IHOP owner Dine Brands (DIN) is also the parent company of Applebee's. Is Rebelez worried that he's competing more directly with his corporate sibling?

Not really. Rebelez said IHOP will remain family-focused, while Applebee's will still be a place to go with friends to get a beer and watch a game.

"They have a bar," Rebelez said. "If you want a burger and beer, you are not going to come to IHOP."

In other words, the B in IHOb clearly doesn't stand for booze.

IHOP's marketing team should be treating itself to some vanilla-spice pancakes with extra syrup right about now. The restaurant chain, famous for its breakfast offerings, playfully riled up its fans online last week by promising to change its name from IHOP to IHOb. And it followed through. Sort of.

Dear Internet, we abbreciate your batience. Now let’s see who guessed right. B-hold!!!!! #IHOb pic.twitter.com/Fh3SkZ7s3Y — IHOb (@IHOb) June 11, 2018

Welcome to the International House of Burgers. IHOP posted an announcement video to Twitter saying, "Dear Internet, we abbreciate your batience. Now let's see who guessed right. B-hold!!!!!"

The name-change tease is all about promoting the chain's new lineup of hamburger offerings, including versions called Cowboy BBQ and Mega Monster. The IHOP website has adopted the branding along with the message, "Our new burgers are so good, we changed our name."

The IHOP flagship restaurant in Hollywood got a new sign to reflect the name change, which pancake fans will be glad to know is temporary. The official IHOP Twitter account (which has switched to "IHOb" for the moment), retweeted a video showing the signage changeover.

The IHOP/IHOb move should be studied in marketing classes as a prime example of how teasing fans on the internet can lead to big publicity returns. Just as IHOP trended on Twitter last week, now IHOb is making a splash.

While some Twitter users seemed genuinely upset about the prospect of a name change, most joined in the conversation as a form of fun, speculating that the "b" could mean anything from "breakfast" to "bitcoin."

IHOP issued a press release, which we will quote a section from verbatim: "Also, burgers burgers burgers. Burgerin' burgers burgers. Reburgered burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers. Burger burgerings burgers burgers burgers. Burgerin' burgers burgers. Moreover, burgers burgered burgers burgers. Burgers burgers burgerin' burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgers burgerin' burgers."

Earlier in the month IHOP—or, the International House of PANCAKES—announced they were changing the last letter of their name from a "p" to a "b," without telling people what the "b" would actually stand for. People were shook and curious.

Most people assumed the name change was to signify "breakfast" because why else would you go to IHOP if not for breakfast? Surely, the name change could not be for, like, burgers? Could it? Well, I'm here to deliver the bad news because...