A&W Restaurants Picks up the Dessert Tab in Celebration of National Root Beer Float Day

World's Largest Root Beer Float Giveaway Rewards Facebook Fans with a Free Signature A&W Root Beer Float

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Aug 04, 2010, 05:13 ET

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Root Beer Float Day (August 6), A&W Restaurants, the home of All American Food including draft A&W Root Beer and the famous Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger, will treat America to the delicious dessert it created: a free, A&W Original Root Beer Float. And this tasty celebration will last longer than just one day.

Beginning today, A&W Restaurants will launch the world's largest online Root Beer Float giveaway on Facebook. Consumers who "like" the A&W page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/awrestaurants) will receive a digital coupon valid for a free regular size Root Beer Float with any purchase. Coupons are good while supplies last and are valid at participating locations.

"A&W Restaurants is home to the classic root beer float, so it's only fitting for us to celebrate National Root Beer Float day with our Facebook community by giving them the original free float," said Barry Westrum, Chief Marketing Officer, A&W Restaurants. "Whether enjoying a snack of our delicious A&W Cheese Curds made with authentic 100 percent all-natural Wisconsin white cheddar cheese or a 100 percent U.S. Beef signature Papa Burger, there's no better pairing than with our Original Root Beer Float. And as a thank you to our fans, this delicious dessert is on us."

The A&W Original Root Beer Float is made with A&W draft Root Beer and topped off with proprietary A&W soft serve in an icy cold mug. A&W Root Beer is the world's number one selling root beer, and is made fresh at hundreds of A&W Restaurants. To this day from its founding in 1919, the formula of this favorite root beer made from a unique blend of 13 ingredients including naturally sweet cane sugar, remains a proprietary secret. A&W Root Beer is available in diet and is caffeine free.

The celebration surrounding Root Beer Float Day is A&W's first effort to engage its Facebook followers with a traffic driving offer. It marks the beginning of the brand leveraging social media to build a dialog with its followers while driving the business. While the exact origins of National Root Beer Float Day are unclear, for years Americans have celebrated August 6 by enjoying a Root Beer Float. A&W hopes to raise awareness of this unique holiday by inviting America to enjoy a free A&W Original Root Beer Float.

And how will millions of Americans enjoy their free Root Beer Float on National Root Beer Float Day? Indulge with a spoon only... to scoop up that creamy soft serve goodness? Or will they skip the spoon and use only a straw to sip the magical blend of ice-cold draught Root Beer and melting soft serve? Maybe it's neither - time for a RBFM (Root Beer Float Moustache). To participate the A&W "Straw Poll" online survey and make your voice heard, visit the A&W Facebook page at www.facebook.com/awrestaurants.

The A&W brand was founded in 1919 and is famous for serving a signature frosty mug root beer float, hotdogs and All-American pure-beef hamburgers. There are approximately 640 A&W American Food outlets in 9 countries and territories around the world, and more than 500 additional points of distribution at Yum! Brands' multi-brand restaurants. A&W Restaurants, Inc., is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM), Louisville, Ky. Visit www.awrestaurants.com or www.facebook.com/awrestaurants for additional information.

SOURCE A&W Restaurants