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21 October 2009   

In the burger wars, Wendy's squares off


Video courtesy of Wendy's (YouTube channel).

"Come on. Let's face it. You know it's real by how we make it. When it's real. You know when it's real."

There's absolutely no reason, when I think about it, that burgers should be round and that round burgers look more real than square ones. But I'm used to round burgers so, unfair as it is for Wendy's, I think square ones look artificial.

Which gets Wendy's off to a bad start when it tries to persuade me, with a side-by-side comparison, that its square burgers are more real than "the other guys'" round burgers. It turns out that I, sample of one, don't measure reality by the way burgers are made. More by the way they look.

Putting aside my (hopefully for them) perverse reaction to the hamburger shape, what is the prognosis for Wendy’s new positioning? As pointed out in a recent story in The Wall Street Journal, Wendy's has struggled to define itself since the death in 2002 of Dave Thomas, its founder and former pitchman. Is focusing on freshness and quality and "poking fun at the competition" going to help them revive the brand?

I'm doubtful. Would asking Melinda Lou to pitch be a better bet? What do you think?

From Brand Mix.


Keywords: advertising, authenticity, branding, burger, commercial, fast food, jingle, marketing, real, wendy's
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