The president of Olive Garden, Dave George, came on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” to hand the “When you’re here, you’re family” slogan over to Jimmy Fallon. It was not merely a handshake agreement, as George brought a contract on-air for the comedian to sign. “If I sign this and you sign this, then, When you’re here, you’re family’ becomes a ‘Late Night with Jimmy Fallon’ slogan?” Fallon asked the Olive Garden president to make it clear to the audience. Following a dramatic drumroll, they both signed the contract. To mark the occasion, the host announced that each member of the crowd would be given “Late Night” shirts which had the show’s new slogan on the back, plus a $100 gift card to Olive Garden.
According to Tara Gray, a spokesperson for Olive Garden, the deal to transfer the slogan over to the late night host had been in the works for weeks before the company’s president appeared on-air, per the Orlando Sentinel. Reportedly, Olive Garden licensed the phrase to Fallon’s show, but the company still owned the rights.
After the contract was signed, “Late Night” aired a sketch that was a parody of an Olive Garden commercial. Fallon sat at a makeshift Olive Garden table with other members of the show, and they made several gags about “unlimited breadsticks.” Years later, Fallon put the slogan to use in another Olive Garden-centric bit as he signed the phrase over to a famous guest.
