Sonic Unveils Summer Menu Items

Sonic Corp. is launching a series of summer promotions on Wednesday that include a "Twitter party," half-price shakes, a tour by its "Two Guys" advertising comedians and new limited-time offer items to debut in July.

The half-price offer coincides with June 20's summer solstice, the longest span of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere, and fits into the outdoor differentiation of the Oklahoma City-based drive-in chain. The half-price promotion will be available all day on June 20 and after 8 p.m. for the rest of the summer season.

To help promote the half-price shake offer, Sonic has tapped Melissa Garcia, an Edmonton, Okla.-based "mommy blogger" for the ConsumerQueen website, to host a Twitter party with the @ConsumerQueen handle from 7 to 8 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, June 19. Fans can register for the for the event to become eligible for prizes that range for gift cards to Sonic-labeled gear.

Sonic also said it will be introducing the following limited-time offers in July:

Guacamole Dog: a grilled beef hot dog topped with guacamole, pepper Jack cheese, tomatoes, jalapeños and onions that's topped with cheese sauce in a poppy seed bun.

Chili-Cheese Fritos Coney: a grilled beef hot dog topped with warm chili, chili cheese corn chips, shredded cheddar cheese, onions and mustard in a bun.

Island Breeze Slush: a blend of piña colada slush and real fruit in strawberry or pineapple flavors.

Sonic is also sponsoring what it calls "The Great Skeedaddle" cross-country road trip, which will send its "Two Guys" comedic advertising spokesmen, known for their dashboard banter, on a tour of units around the nation. Their schedule will be on Sonic's Facebook page. facebook.com/sonicdrivein The Facebook "Skeedaddle" application also allows fans to sign up and do a virtual tour of their own Facebook friends and enter to win $5,000 toward their own real-life trip.

Sonic has more than 3,500 drive-ins in 43 states.

Contact Ron Ruggless at ronald.ruggless@penton.com.
Follow him on Twitter: @RonRuggless