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Category
Craft / Use of Visuals
Annual ID
OS_SM21_105M
About the Work
There’s a longstanding rumor that Wendy’s hid a subliminal message that vaguely reads “MOM” in the collar of its namesake redheaded logo. False. Unintentional, anyway. But why not use this unending scrutiny of our supposedly subversive logo design to our advantage? Ahead of the launch of the new Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger - which also marked the return of our fan favorite pretzel bun - Wendy’s quietly updated its logo on social media.
We decided to seed a hint in our logo’s collar about pretzels to drum up excitement for the pretzel bun’s return and our new hamburger’s launch. We stealthily removed the faux “MOM” in Wendy’s collar, and inserted a pretzel in its place. Our audience noticed quickly and fueled new speculation and excitement about what was to come. Demand for the new Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger was red hot from the launch, resulting in sales that exceeded forecasts by 45%.
We decided to seed a hint in our logo’s collar about pretzels to drum up excitement for the pretzel bun’s return and our new hamburger’s launch. We stealthily removed the faux “MOM” in Wendy’s collar, and inserted a pretzel in its place. Our audience noticed quickly and fueled new speculation and excitement about what was to come. Demand for the new Pretzel Bacon Pub Cheeseburger was red hot from the launch, resulting in sales that exceeded forecasts by 45%.
2021 Awards
Total Points: 3
Merit
Credits
Agency
VMLY&R / Kansas City
Client / Brand
Wendy's
Associate Creative Director
Ricardo Vallejo
Chief Marketing Officer
Carl Loredo
Creative Director
Eamon Conway
Matt Keck
Global Chief Creative Officer
Debbi Vandeven
Group Creative Director
McKay Hathaway
Associate Connections Director, Social
Samantha Schuster
Chief Creative Officer, Kansas City
Noel Cottrell
Chief Creative Officer, North America
John Godsey
Senior Producer
Michael Kinney
Social Media Specialist
Kristin Tormey
Account Manager, Client Engagement
Margaret Reed
Assistant Account Manager, Client Engagement
Adam Scherzer
Brand Manager
Liza Mathias
Natalie Yang
Chief Client Officer, North America
Jennifer McDonald
Connections Manager
Carolina Mach
Connections Supervisor, Social
Jessica Wiggins Unverferth
Director, Brand
Melissa Cash
Director, PR
Frank Vamos
Group Director, Client Engagement
Kelly Gartenmayer
Group Director, Planning
Bret Smith
Manager, Innovation & Data
Jeremy Cline
Managing Director, Client Engagement
Jason Bass
Senior Campaign Program Manager
Laura Picicci
Supervisor, Client Engagement
Hilary Golubski
VP, Brand & Advertising
Lindsay Radkoski
VP, Media & Social
Jimmy Bennett
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