The biggest recent highlight for the Denny’s restaurant brand was its 2010 Super Bowl campaign marking the return of its free Grand Slam breakfast on your birthday promotion. It was also, as it turns out, the last hurrah for Denny’s CEO Nelson Marchioli.

Denny’s 30-second advertisement during the game, offering a free Grand Slam breakfast on the ensuing Tuesday, captivated Americans even though it was the second consecutive Super Bowl that Denny’s tried the gambit. In this year’s cheeky TV spots, chickens were urged to “get out of town” because it was going to be a heavy egg-laying week.

Just as in 2009, Denny’s served about two million free Grand Slam breakfasts on the appointed morning. Marchioli proclaimed the event “a great day for Americans” as well as for the chain, a boast that was backed up by post-Super Bowl buzz, which rose 11 points and tied with E-Trade for biggest viral buzz-making.

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