10 fake holidays that were actually invented by brands

coffee

Many of our favorite holidays were invented by brands to pad sales.
There is no official body that approves holidays in the United States (Congress can only set federal holidays), which is why there are so many of them.
“Fake” holidays succeed when they offer either fun or strengthen an emotional connection to food or a cause.

It seems like every day is a holiday now, an ode to some food, cause, or even a facetious accent. Thanks to social media, brands and consumers alike can think up new holidays wholesale and promote them to a wide audience.

For example, while Halloween wasn’t created by a company, the candy industry at the start of the 20th century tried to turn the second Saturday in October into Candy Day, The Atlantic reported. That is until Halloween proved a more suitable candy-centered holiday. Call it a half-win.

In that spirit, let’s take a look at some other popular holidays invented by brands.

1. National Pancake Day

Outside of the US — especially in the U.K. and Ireland — there’s an official Pancake Day, which takes place every year on Shrove (or “Fat”) Tuesday, the day before the start of the Lenten season. It’s a day people in the United States may know better by its other name: Mardi Gras.

The International House of Pancakes (IHOP) seized the branding opportunity and brought IHOP National Pancake Day to the United States in 2006, giving away free short stacks of pancakes and raising money for charity in the process.

IHOP usually aligns National Pancake Day with Fat Tuesday, but they’ve been known to move it around by a week or so. It’s their holiday, after all.

2. National Rotisserie Chicken Day

For lovers of chicken-on-a-spit, June 2 – National Rotisserie Chicken Day – is the time to shine. It will also probably come as no surprise that the king of rotisserie chicken sales, Boston Market, is the company behind it, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The chicken chain submitted their proposal in April 2015 to National Day Calendar, one of the main unofficial bodies that reviews new “holiday” requests from brands and companies, and received approval in May of the same year.

3. National/International Coffee Day

Lots of countries have had National Coffee days, but one of the first documented “International Coffee” holidays was developed by the All Japan Coffee Association back in 1983 and set for October 1st, according to the company.

It wasn’t until 2015, however, that International Coffee Day went truly international, with 35 countries in the International Coffee Association signing on.

Much of the U.S., however, celebrates National Coffee Day on September 29, according to the National Day Calendar.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider