How Wingstop turned a fan-favourite flavour into a social media takeover

This post is sponsored by The Ad Makers.

When Wingstop Singapore's fans wouldn't stop asking for the return of Hot Honey Rub, the brand could have simply brought it back.

Instead, together with creative agency The Ad Makers, Wingstop turned that demand into the premise of a social media campaign – one that blurred the lines between brand content, storytelling and audience participation.

The result was “The Hot Honey Rub Hacker”, a campaign that went on to win four gold awards at the Hashtag Asia Awards 2026.

But before the accolades came a simple observation: Wingstop fans really wanted their Hot Honey Rub back.

A flavour fans refused to forget

Hot Honey Rub had previously appeared on Wingstop Singapore's menu as a limited-time flavour. When it left, some fans weren't ready to move on.

Requests for its return continued appearing across Wingstop's social channels.

Rather than treating these comments as just another request for a discontinued product, Wingstop and The Ad Makers saw an opportunity.

If fans were already making noise about bringing Hot Honey Rub back, perhaps the brand didn't need to manufacture another product launch campaign.

It needed to give that existing behaviour a bigger stage. And so, Wingstop got hacked.

Enter the Hot Honey Rub Hacker

Without warning, Wingstop Singapore's social media presence began behaving strangely.

Its profile picture changed. Posts were disrupted. Cryptic messages appeared. And behind it all was a mysterious figure who seemed to have taken control of Wingstop's account with one very specific demand: bring Hot Honey Rub back.

The Hot Honey Rub Hacker was born.

Instead of announcing the flavour's return upfront, Wingstop allowed the story to unfold through its social channels, turning what would ordinarily have been a product announcement into an ongoing social narrative.

The hacker rallied fellow Hot Honey Rub fans, disrupted Wingstop’s usual communications and challenged the brand publicly. More importantly, the audience was invited to join in.

Comments, reactions and conversations weren’t happening outside the campaign. They became part of it.

The people asking for Hot Honey Rub to return were no longer simply the audience for the story. They were helping move the story forward.

A campaign designed to behave like social media

That distinction shaped how The Hot Honey Rub Hacker came to life.

Rather than starting with a traditional advertising idea and adapting it into social formats, the campaign was built around behaviours native to social media: commenting, sharing, reacting, speculating and creating.

The hacker could respond to what people were saying. Fans could take sides. Conversations could evolve in real time.

And as more people joined the movement to bring Hot Honey Rub back, the line between what Wingstop had planned and what its community was contributing became increasingly blurred.

The campaign effectively handed part of the storytelling over to the people it was created for.

Eventually, the pressure became impossible for Wingstop to ignore. Hot Honey Rub returned.

From a limited-time flavour to a permanent part of the menu

What started as a fictional social media takeover ultimately reflected something very real: sustained consumer appetite for the flavour.

Following its comeback, Hot Honey Rub proved that the enthusiasm surrounding it wasn't confined to social media.

And what had begun as a limited-time flavour eventually earned something considerably more lasting. Wingstop made Hot Honey Rub a permanent part of its menu.

It gave The Hot Honey Rub Hacker an unusually fitting conclusion.

Fans asked for the flavour. A hacker turned their demands into a movement. Wingstop gave in. And this time, Hot Honey Rub stayed.

Four golds at Hashtag Asia Awards 2026

The Hot Honey Rub Hacker subsequently received seven finalist nominations at the Hashtag Asia Awards 2026.

It also walked away with four gold awards: 'Best Social Media Campaign for a Specific Audience', 'Best Social Media Campaign: Instagram', 'Best Use of Storytelling in a Social Media Campaign', and 'Best User-Generated Content Campaign'.

The wins recognised different aspects of a campaign built around one central idea: instead of using social media simply to tell consumers that Hot Honey Rub was coming back, Wingstop allowed its community to become part of the reason it came back.

In an environment where brands are constantly trying to start conversations with consumers, The Hot Honey Rub Hacker took a different approach.

It found a conversation its fans had already started – and gave them the keys to take over.