By: Maddie Nerden
Panera is blending comfort food with comfort TV. In recent social media campaigns, some of America’s favorite coming-of-age drama stars found themselves struggling to pick something off Panera’s menu. The Summer I Turned Pretty heartthrob Christropher Briney waffles between ordering a sandwich and a salad in a “You Pick Two” ad; while Gilmore Girls’ love interests Jared Padalecki and Matt Czuchry debate which autumn soup will win Rory’s heart. These campaigns are part of a broader strategy to tap into fandoms and nostalgia. Let’s take a closer look at how Panera pulls this off.
Chris Picks Two
During the height of The Summer I Turned Pretty hubbub in August 2025, Panera released their ad with Chistopher Briney to promote their You Pick Two offering. With You Pick Two, customers can order half-sized portions of two different entrées and a side for a discounted price than two regular entrées. It offers customers a lot of flexibility and variety since they enjoy two favorites at once and can mix up their selections anytime they visit.
The Prime Video star starts the ad saying “I don’t know what to do, I’m torn between two things. I could listen to my gut and do what I know is right, or I could follow my heart and let the chips fall where they may.” This ambiguous introduction is a reference to how Briney’s character, Conrad Fisher, and his brother Jeremiah are in a love triangle with the main character Belly Conklin. It reflects Conrad’s indecision on whether to express his true feelings to Belly, even when she’s in a relationship with his brother.
After more pondering and being prompted to order by the cashier, Briney responds, “I know the right thing to do is just leave it alone and get a salad, but I will always love sandwiches. I grew up eating them.” Once the cashier informs Briney of the You Pick Two, he eagerly orders it, then later reflects saying, “I wish life was like Panera.”
See the whole ad play out below:
The ad had positive reception on social media, with over 376,000 likes and 83,000 shares on Instagram. Users expressed their excitement about this partnership commenting, “Allll these brands getting involved in team Jeremiah and team Conrad is iconic!!!” and “This is everything. Whoever pitched this should get a raise.” One person even asked for Conrad’s go-to meal, which Panera responded, “Chris gets the you pick 2: green goddess chicken cobb salad and a chicken avo melt 🤩”.
Fall for Your Favorites
To kick off the start of fall, Panera posted their ad with Jared Padalecki and Matt Czuchry to promote their fall menu. These seasonal items include three soups: Hearty Fireside Chili, Autumn Squash Soup, and the long-awaited return of the Black Bean Soup.
The ad shows the Gilmore Girls boyfriends in the middle of deliberating over their favorite autumn soups. Padalecki starts by saying “We do this every fall, and I’m tired of it. What is wrong with being the reliable one, the one that’s always there for you? I’m sure, I know what you’re going to say, it’s not that fancy, but it feels like home.” Panera once again uses an ambiguous introduction to reference Padalecki’s character in the show, Dean Forrester, who the protagonist, Rory Gilmore, would often go back to for comfort regardless of their relationship status.
Czuchry responds, “Hey man, listen. Some people just might want a little something more…sophisticated.” This refers to his character, Logan Huntzberger, who was Rory’s college boyfriend at Yale. This combined with a later line “What about autumn squash soup? I mean, it’s so rich.” represents Logan’s descent from a wealthy family and the more mature relationship he had with Rory.
Padalecki refutes Czuchry’s earlier line with, “No, all they really want is the bad boy. The one that left without even saying goodbye. And what now, it’s back and hotter than ever?” Czuchry then comes in with the punch line: “Woah, woah, woah, Jared. Black bean soup is back? Oh my god! It’s brooding, mysterious, hot!” This portion of the ad refers to Milo Ventimiglia’s character, Jess Mariano, who frequently left and re-entered Rory’s life throughout the series. Ventimiglia himself was not present for the ad.
See the whole ad play out below:
This campaign also received positive reception, gaining over 144,000 likes and 67,000 shares in just 4 days. People expressed their excitement commenting, “Gilmore girls + Panera = my two fave fall things 🍂🧡” and “I’m here for the boys like the rest of us but are you telling me that THE BLACK BEAN SOUP IS BACK 😭😭😭😭😭 shut up shut up shut up”. Other users suggested ideas for cameos from Milo Ventimiglia, Lauren Graham (protagonist Lorelai Gilmore), and Sean Gunn (reoccurring character Kirk) in the comments.
The Recipe Behind Success
Panera’s recent campaigns have a few things in common: the use of beloved actors and impeccable timing. These two factors result in tapping into large TV fandoms who will connect with the campaign.
Chistopher Briney is an up-incoming actor who got his break from The Summer I Turned Pretty show. He has a loyal following of 5.3 million followers on Instagram and has mainstream recognition for his character Conrad. Jared Padalecki and Matt Czuchry are nostalgic actors well known for their roles in Gilmore Girls, with Padalecki having a following of 6.8 million on Instagram.
Panera perfectly timed their campaign releases for when there’s the most buzz about a particular show. For “Chris Picks Two”, it was in the middle of The Summer I Turned Pretty’s highly anticipated final season in early August. They also posted the ad on Thursday, the day after an episode aired, to capitalize on the post-viewing excitement. “Fall for Your Favorites” debuted soon after the first official day of autumn, right when people start rewatching their favorite comfort show, Gilmore Girls. This campaign reached older generations who watched the show when it originally aired in the early 2000s, which tapped into their nostalgia. The ad also reaches younger generations like Gen Z, who’ve discovered Gilmore Girls years after its conclusion on streaming platforms, and look forward to rewatching every fall.
References
https://pngset.com/images/gilmore-girls-label-text-logo-symbol-transparent-png-1487061.png
https://vectorseek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/The-Summer-I-Turned-Pretty-Logo-Vector.svg-.png
https://youtube.com/shorts/DcBmEiEaO4M?si=ITYhSp2TtQdoQmCv
The ‘Fall For Your Favorites’ Meal ft. actors Jared Padalecki and Matt Czuchry
AMA University of New Hampshire 
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