Breaking: The New Wendy’s Spot From Kirshenbaum Bond
January 29, 2008
We are recusing ourselves, as it’s clear we can’t be unbiased in this one. We’ve said our piece on the slogan. Now, we’ll let you, the experts be judge and jury. Just hit the play button and get to commenting. One more to come. Drum roll, please…
January 29, 2008 at 9:24 pm
I like the Wendy character, but there’s too much going on visually, and there are some awkward pauses in the copy as a result.
January 29, 2008 at 9:31 pm
what did I tell ya … it’s one twenty-eight second product shot plus a smile.
January 29, 2008 at 9:33 pm
AgencySpy — the link “your thoughts please” is broken for some reason..
http://agencyspy.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/wendys-is-it-waaaay-better-than-fast-food-really/
January 29, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Guess maybe I could get a job at Kirshenbaum after all…
January 29, 2008 at 9:42 pm
is it a finger?
January 29, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Very bland on bland.
January 29, 2008 at 10:52 pm
K & B proves “there will always be work.”
January 29, 2008 at 11:01 pm
The v.o. and slogan makes me think they just shrugged their shoulders and ceded the entire 13-24 dude demo to burger king. Do their girlfriends buy enough burgers to make this a smart move? Me thinks not.
January 29, 2008 at 11:05 pm
I like the voice-over (except for the pronunciation of that large southern polar continent in the beef one). I don’t know the backstory, but the negative approach especially in the fish ad is a bit of a turn-off. Why are we being invited to think about mystery fish? Just the mention of it makes me start to wonder, hmmm, did Wendy’s used to use mystery fish?
January 29, 2008 at 11:29 pm
i dont understand the random b-roll alaska shot. it looks strange.
January 29, 2008 at 11:40 pm
it’s waaaaay shittier than crispin’s bk work. but about equal to mickey d’s.
January 30, 2008 at 1:17 am
a true creative agency would never do this. k&b needs the money. much like the red lobster work that supposedly creative richards group puts out.
January 30, 2008 at 1:38 am
Seriously? I don’t think KB needs the money after selling the shop in its entirety to Miles Nadal.
I was not a fan of the wigs and this is a completely different direction, which is interesting. Kind of rote, perhaps, but it’s making me hungry, so it must be working.
January 30, 2008 at 2:29 am
Red WIg suddenly looks pretty good
January 30, 2008 at 2:45 am
Everyone is way to cynical. This ad will get Moms to Wendy’s over any other competitor in the market. The appeal, freshness. The Wendy Character, sweet. It is a departure from the cooler than cool and hipper than hip approach of everyone else. I bet the cash registers will ring. Excuse me, but isn’t that the point of advertising?
January 30, 2008 at 2:58 am
I have to agree with you as painful as it is agencyinsider – this is the right strategy (and tag) for them as Wendy’s has always been known for quality – and it’s hard to miss the strategy in this work. As someone who works in a place that specializes in fastball-down-the-middle creative, it usually works with consumers and 9 times out of 10 in the boardroom at troubled clients. On top of that, we are entering a recession, which we all know will herald in the return of “honest” advertising, less hype/glitz and, ultimately, a real challenge to creatives trying to sell daring work. Bummer…
January 30, 2008 at 5:27 am
Please. This is a horrible load of crap. Why does the client hire an agency to execute ads they write themselves? Why do agencies do it? Poorly executed, too. Shit like this and all the guilty malpractitioners who bend over and make it is why the DVR is sucking the money out of our business. Fastball-down-the-middle? This pitch bounced twice before it hit the plate.
January 30, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I mean it’s Wendy’s. Clever cool ads with dudes in wigs (which weren’t that clever or cool anyway) simply don’t appeal to people who would actually eat at a Wendy’s. Their TV business was Saatchi’s to lose and lose it they did: Giuliani style.
K&B are good at dealing with mediocre brands and Wendy’s is a good fit for them. There’s nothing to get creative about – that was Saatchi’s mistake.
January 30, 2008 at 3:55 pm
There’s nothing wrong with an ad having a straightforward message. You’ll find several great straightforward ads in any decent award show annual.
The new Wendy’s spot is just terrible. K&B obviously wasn’t even trying.
January 30, 2008 at 5:23 pm
somewhere between this piece of shit and the red wig is the place to be. this is close to a parody of the category. clients don’t need agencies to create work like this, they only need production companies.
January 30, 2008 at 5:44 pm
“clients don’t need agencies to create work like this, they only need production companies.”
or at least, a CMO that knows how to use microsoft word and a CMO’s kid that can edit a video on a mac. Which is what the commercial looks and sounds like.
January 30, 2008 at 7:28 pm
Looks just like the crappy, white bread, braindead stuff that my bosses and clients ask me to pump out every day. Good thing I don’t have to think at work. Thinking would distract me from collecting images of naked hot latinas in all my spare time at my desk.
A small part of me does say, “yeah, its nice to focus on the food a little,” but the other 98.996 percent of me says, “What the hell??” At least now I can picture Wendy’s being safe for my Grandma and her loose dentures, but I won’t be hanging out there anytime soon. I never go to Wendy’s anyway, but some of those crazy, funny Red Wig spots almost got me to go!
Well, good luck Wendy’s. Back to obscurity and darkness.
Enjoy.
January 30, 2008 at 7:41 pm
i don’t agree w/ the previous postings. this is not a mere :30 product shot spot. there’s a good message in this spot. wendy’s the creme de la creme of ..well, greasy fast food. after watching this spot, the filet of fish at mcdonalds seems well, questionable in mind. i think this is SMART. may not be earth shatteringly creative but it’s much better thatn the freak in red pigtails. and it MAKES you want to eat wendys.
January 30, 2008 at 10:00 pm
i disagree agencygal..there is no idea…just bad writing and client friendly and franchisee arousing product shots
January 30, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Yes, even bad advertising works. Doing something creative just works better.
This is exactly the kind of thing you change the channel because of. So what if the food looks good if nobody ever pays attention to it.
This is the opposite of breakthrough.
January 31, 2008 at 12:18 am
These spots clearly show Wendy’s going back to the “safely beaten track” after venturing outside and getting beaten the fuck up. Saatchi tried to be “progressive” and dropped the ball. The backlash of the horrible “red wig” campaign certainly showed you need to consider who you’re advertising to when you’re a brand like Wendy’s. The numbers don’t lie. Nonetheless, that tagline is what is really horrifying…have the fast food guys finally joined the dinner party with the tobacco, alcohol, and firearms?
January 31, 2008 at 12:31 am
i don’t know how anyone can defend something so poorly done. if you’re going to give up, for fuck’s sake, you can at least execute.
January 31, 2008 at 1:24 am
this is shit pure and simple. anybody who can rationalize this could rationalize anything–George Bush, Draft/FCB, child labor, dog fighting.
January 31, 2008 at 1:31 am
I agree that this is on strategy and will drive sales and thats what matters in the end. Reminds me of a keynote from a top industry executive who says ‘it’s about the art’. Ummm, NO. It’s about results.
let’s tone down our chest thumping agencyish pomposity. It should not be about outdoing the agency down the street. And it should not be about clios, or art for arts sake.
January 31, 2008 at 4:59 am
these are pretty boring. and they feel like rough cuts (some poor editing and a VO that feels like a scratch track). are they finished spots? not sure i would even notice these if they came on my TV.
while i wasn’t a huge fan of the red wig stuff, i pretty much always noticed the spots. and the fresh never frozen message always came through loud and clear. i’ve already forgotten what the message was on the kb spots.
January 31, 2008 at 1:32 pm
Sometimes that’s the only way to win a pitch. K+B must be crying all the way to the bank.
January 31, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Why is everyone willing to accept that it was the wig ads fault for sales dipping? McD’s and BK both had more new menu items and just as smart advertising. Let’s take a step back and hold the client accountable for their share of driving sales. The change in agency is more a result of the franchises not being held accountable than an advertising agency not doing their job.
Plus these ads are terrible. Wendy’s only calls the fish sandwich “Pacific Fish” on their actual menu, leading people to think it’s some mish mash of w/e is trawled up. And to think that the american public is going to believe that Wendy’s is the only place not freezing their meat is ridiculous. Plus some of those who do believe that statement are going to wonder why everyone else does it an Wendy’s doesn’t. It’s not like every other burger outside of wendy’s is noticeably inferior.
K+B did what they had to do to get the account, and once again the client seems willing to throw vanilla out to the market in hopes of not being blamed for poor marketing. Problem is these ads are just that.
February 6, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Wendy’s has by far the best fast food. What dipshit think McDs or BK actually tastes better?
Would it be so hard to make a clever/fun/engaging spot that reinforced this salient point?
Ah, what do I know. I work in interactive, so I don’t know shit about TV. Except that in 5 years you will all be out of work, because NO ONE WATCHES TV COMMERCIALS ANYMORE!!!!!!!!
Enjoy retirement.
February 28, 2008 at 4:56 pm
All fast food is disgusting. I can’t even believe that anyone eats it at all anymore.
February 28, 2008 at 4:59 pm
K&P used to be an interesting creative place. Now it is planning-driven, not creative-driven, and their work sucks. This ad will probably get more people to pop over to Wendy’s and eat some deep fried fish, but when you think about it, that’s kind of a sad thing, isn’t it?
March 19, 2008 at 7:22 pm
A reminder to those that think this work will be effective: Wendy’s has ALWAYS highlighted freshness and wholesomeness in their campaigns and has continuously lost to McD and BK. Why? Well, just look at the advertising style of these two giants. Some of it might be crap but overall it maintains the brands fresh and urban. Who cares if fast food joints use frozen burgers or fresh ones? We know it’s crap, we know it makes us fat, we just want it to taste good – it’s an indulgence. If I want a nice fillet of fish I go to a restaurant.
I really believed that the red wig was doing a good job of making the boring Wendy’s logo something fun and interactive. It was bringing Wendy’s into the new millennium, now it’s back to 1985. If they are going this rout, just bring the “Where’s the beef ladies back” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug75diEyiA0
BTW, good fast food ads that are 100% product focused: sonic. Love them.