Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard is leveraging media IP to drive summer daypart traffic, rolling out a limited-time collaboration with TBS across its 600-plus-unit network through August 23. The program, dubbed "A Shirley Good Time," anchors on a new Shirley Temple Italian Ice and extends into a co-branded LTO menu, a mobile Treat Truck Tour, and a social-entry sweepstakes—a multi-channel activation that follows the playbook franchised QSR and fast-casual brands increasingly use to generate incremental visits during peak seasonal windows.
The LTO Menu
The collaboration debuts four limited-time SKUs, each mapped to a TBS comedy property. The Bazinga Blast (The Big Bang Theory) pairs Shirley Temple Italian Ice with a proprietary "Shirley Sparkle" topping. The Office Favorite (The Office) layers Vanilla Frozen Custard beneath the same Italian Ice. The Brain Freeze Misto (Impractical Jokers) blends both bases into a custard-ice hybrid. The Central Chiller Ice Blender (Friends) converts the flavor into a frozen beverage format—a format extension that broadens the chain's off-premise and on-the-go appeal. Participating locations will also carry co-branded cups and limited-edition signage while supplies last.
Field Activation & Loyalty Play
Beyond the in-store menu, Rita's and Warner Bros. Discovery will deploy a Treat Truck Tour hitting select markets through the summer, with specific dates and locations to be announced on a rolling basis. The activation pairs frozen treat sampling with interactive experiences, a format that functions as low-cost field marketing for a franchise system where unit-level visibility drives franchisee ROI.
The loyalty angle is equally deliberate. Rita's is routing the sweepstakes—three winners receive free Rita's Ice for a year plus a co-branded merchandise pack—through social UGC on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, with entries requiring a tag of @RitasIce. That mechanic generates organic reach while funneling new consumers toward the Rita's Ice app, where the brand captures first-party data and drives repeat visits through rewards redemptions. New app members receive one free small item upon first purchase, a standard acquisition incentive in loyalty-driven franchise systems.
"After introducing our new Shirley Temple Ice, we wanted to build an experience that celebrates everything people love about summer — from nostalgic flavors to iconic television moments," said Carmela Hughley, SVP of Marketing Insights & Innovation at Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard. Melissa Chambless, EVP of Marketing at Warner Bros. Discovery, framed the deal as an extension of TBS's comfort-comedy positioning into real-world consumer touchpoints.
For Rita's franchisees, the program arrives during the chain's highest-volume seasonal window. Italian Ice and frozen custard concepts are acutely daypart- and weather-dependent, making summer LTOs and traffic-driving partnerships critical to annual unit economics. The TBS tie-in gives operators a promotional hook with broad consumer recognition across the chain's franchise footprint, which spans more than 600 shops systemwide. Operators in the fast-casual and QSR segment have increasingly pursued media and entertainment co-brands as a cost-efficient alternative to price-driven promotions, particularly as food and beverage LTO strategy continues to evolve in a value-sensitive consumer environment.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
