Meet the real Wendy

Dave Thomas was the founder of the fast food restaurant, Wendy's. He named the franchise after his daughter, Wendy. The family is now returning to Wendy's advertising by having the real Wendy in the new campaign for Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger, named after Dave Mr. Thomas himself. His face has been part of the brand since it was founded in 1969. This is the first time that Wendy actually appeared in any of the ads. The idea here was "who better to introduce the line than Wendy herself?". I think having the real Wendy is a good addition to the current campaign "You know when it's real" since she is the real version of the cartoon icon. Right now, they are only test marketing the new cheeseburger in Vegas. The reason why most products are tested in Vegas is because everything starts in Vegas and what happens in Vegas stays there so it's not a total flop if something goes wrong.

Anyway, I think the new real Wendy could be a good character for the brand. The cartoon Wendy icon was actually created to look like Wendy when she was a kid. I think it's clever to have her come back in advertising now and it makes the brand feel more family friendly. I know she's specifically coming into the advertising for the new campaign for the new burger but I wonder if that's gonna be it for her. I think it would be good for the brand to have her stick around for years like her father Dave did. That way the consumer can relate to the brand more and have a solid character in the campaign. If Wendy goes away after this one campaign, I don't think anyone will realize or remember who she is and it wouldn't make any difference if she made this one appearance or not.

They could of picked anyone to be the new spokesperson of Wendy's but it's so much more powerful that it's the real Wendy which is why I think it's so critical that she stays in the brand. I know when I first read this article I thought "wow that's the real Wendy!" We all know the icon but we've never seen the actual person and now she's all grown up. Anyway, I think this is a powerful boost for Wendy's marketing.

Here is a TV ad for he new campaign:



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