Denny’s Scores With Perfect Twitter Reaction To Apple’s Beats Buy

If newsjacking can be considered an art form, then Denny’s created a minor masterpiece today:

BREAKING: Denny’s Buys Beets for $3 Billion, Makes Huge Salad

— Denny’s (@DennysDiner) May 29, 2014

It was a perfect reaction to yesterday’s news that Apple is buying Beats Electronics for $3 billion, topical, funny and punctuated by just the right dose of absurdity. The tweet has performed well, with 756 retweets and 673 favorites and a long thread of positive replies.

We’ve come to expect such hijinks from Denny’s Twitter account, which sometimes reads like a string of standup comic one-liners. The Denny’s social team certainly isn’t afraid of taking real-time risks, as it proved after Florida State beat Auburn in the BCS college football championship in January.

Its tweet that night — “If it’s any consolation Auburn fans, there are 47 chances to win on the way home,” with a Pasadena to Auburn map marking Denny’s locations attached — drew more than 6,000 RTs but also drew mixed reviews with many marketers believing it unwise to alienate such a huge group of customers or potential customers.

Today’s effort, on the other hand, was low-risk, high-reward. Here are some of the reactions:

I LOLd. In public. RT @DennysDiner: BREAKING: Denny’s Buys Beets for $3 Billion, Makes Huge Salad

— Jeff Baum (@jeffbaum) May 29, 2014

Best brand tweet of the year? The month? Either way, Bravo! RT @DennysDiner: BREAKING: Denny’s Buys Beets for $3 Billion, Makes Huge Salad

— Sara Collaton (@saracollaton) May 29, 2014

@DennysDiner This may be the best tweet of the day so far.

— William Cook (@wcook1990) May 29, 2014

<slow clap> RT @DennysDiner BREAKING: Denny’s Buys Beets for $3 Billion, Makes Huge Salad

— megan tommasi (@mtommasi) May 29, 2014

@DennysDiner LAUGH OUT LOUD OMG I LOVE YOU CRYING

— Aurora Hernandez (@Aurora_Hernandz) May 29, 2014