Featured articles
Food & Drink
Food & Drink
Food & Drink
Featured articles
Everything SD
Everything SD
Everything SD
Featured articles
Things to Do
Things to Do
Things to Do
Featured articles
podcast-ep
podcast-ep
podcast-ep
Featured articles
Features
Features
Features
Featured articles
Food & Drink
Food & Drink
Food & Drink
Ready to know more about San Diego?
SubscribeReady to know more about San Diego?
CMO Ryan Ostrom on the brand’s local roots, clever marketing, why Jack might be the city’s most unlikely sex symbol, and its not-so-surprising number-one seller
This week on Happy Half Hour, co-hosts Troy Johnson and Jackie Bryant get deep-fried in nostalgia with Ryan Ostrom, CMO of Jack in the Box, the fast-food giant that made San Diego its home. They talk about Jack’s weird, wonderful marketing legacy (yes, they did blow up their own mascot), the late-night taco cult, and why the brand has no business making a burger this good.
Ostrom dishes on his move from GNC to Jack, why the company refuses to take itself too seriously, and how their ads still push the envelope. Also on the menu: Troy’s childhood breakfast obsession, Jackie’s pandemic-era Jack phase, and the secret behind those drive-thru tacos that probably shouldn’t work—but absolutely do.
Jackie is a long-time freelance journalist covering cannabis, food/restaurants, travel, labor, wine, spirits, arts & culture, design, and other topics. Her work has been selected twice for Best American Travel Writing, and she has won a variety of national and local awards for her writing and reporting.