I hate to say I told you so: Wendy's Drops Ad Campaign

My post in September was about Wendy's new "red wig" ad campaign with a focus on men and their desire for "hot, juicy burgers."

After less than acceptable sales results, Wendy's finally pulled the ad campaign. They are going back to the classy, comfortable approach that made them successful for so many years. I'm actually a big fan of the new campaign featuring an animated Wendy and the message that "it's waaay better than fast food. It's Wendys"

The new campaign better represents Wendy's traditions while still focusing on the key target audience of 18-to-34-year-olds, Kerrii Anderson, Wendy's president and chief executive, said in an interview.

"It feels like Wendy's again," she said.

Holtcamp said Wendy's emphasis on its quality food was getting distracted by the red wig campaign. [more]

I agree and so does everybody else. 68,000 people gave the old campaign a "Thumbs Down" on an informal poll on "AOL Money and Finance." Only 6,000 people approved of the ads.

For your viewing pleasure... one more time... (btw: This ad almost humiliates men... I can't image how this was justified in the board room)

Would Dave Approve? Wendy's New Ad Campaign

Advertising Age: "Since Mr. Thomas passed away in 2002, Wendy's has struggled to develop ads without its trusty star. ..."

"What Dave built was a fast-food place that wasn't a fast-food place," said one insider. "But when Dave died, they froze the place in amber."

Wendy's is getting opposition from the founder's family for random ads featuring men in red wigs. I have to agree with the family on this one.

Zagat recently declared Wendy's the "best burger" in the fast food category! Their value menu is brilliantly comprehensive! Their food is far superior to that of Burger King and McDonalds! Yet they choose to market themselves with an ad campaign that looks so similar to a Burger King ad that I wouldn't know the difference if it wasn't for the wig.

I agree that Dave built a fast foot restaurant that wasn't fast food. His ad campaigns were unique in that they were classy, comfortable and all about the food. Every other fast food ad campaign targets men 18-30. Who needs men 18-30 when you can have every other demographic segment that fast food advertising alienates? "Subservient Chicken?" Need I say more?

The Marketing Guy

p.s. The premise of the advertising campaign is that you don't have to be like everyone else. The irony is that Wendy's is doing just that!!

Ask.com Television Campaign

One word to describe this ad: "WOW" (and not in a good way)

When I saw this TV spot for Ask.com, I was reminded of a conference I attended in Vegas a couple years ago during which Seth Godin gave a speech about why he believed internet companies should NEVER, under and circumstance, advertise anywhere but online. Why market to people who are away from their computers when you could target people who are staring at the monitor and ready to respond? Are there not enough people online for Ask.com to drive traffic and awareness via the internet? His point was that internet companies should BE MORE CREATIVE! There are literally thousands of ways to generate awareness online without resorting to a television campaign.

Seth was brutal in his portrayal of internet companies who market via traditional advertising mediums. The thing I enjoyed the most was watching the guy in the front row act awkwardly uncomfortable. As it turns out, it was the Chief Marketing Officer for Ebay and he was on deck to speak about his “Found it on Ebay” television campaign.

What do you think about internet companies advertising on television? Post comments.