Pittsburgh friends appear as "regulars" in new Applebee's ad campaign

Despite being a national restaurant chain, Applebee's touts itself as "a neighborhood bar and grill," stressing a sense of community with shareable appetizers and a family-friendly environment. This comes through in its latest ad campaign, which includes appearances from a real-life group of Pittsburgh friends at an Applebee's location in Swissvale.

Markeea “Keea” Hart, Bradley Hill, Danielle "INEZ" Walker, Mia Marshall, and Janita Kilgore all appear in the latest television spots for Applebee's. Titled "The Regulars," the ads feature a number of people, including firefighters, families, and youth sports teams, among others, heading to Applebee's, all set to the theme from the sitcom Cheers.

Hart says she got involved in the campaign through Marshall, who co-runs the media platform Girls Running Shit with her and Kilgore.

"They were going for a more organic approach," says Hart. "We went to the casting via Zoom. And a week later we were shooting in Swissvale! We did two days of filming. It was so fun doing this with my real-life best friends!"

Hart and the others are shown meeting up at Applebee's, talking and laughing around the bar in the Swissvale location. Hart is also shown going into the Loc 'N Loaded hair salon in Swissvale.

The friends are also currently being featured on the Applebee's account Twitter banner, along with the tagline "Here's to The Regulars. We wouldn't be here without you."