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Wendy's Drops Red Pigtail Ad Campaign

Posted: 2008-01-29 11:15:58

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Jan. 29) - Wendy's International Inc. will scrap its eight-month old advertising campaign -- much of it built on young men wearing a red wig with braided pigtails -- amid continued weak sales, the nation's third-largest hamburger chain announced Monday.

The campaign, which debuted during the season finale of "American Idol" in May, has generated attention, but hasn't translated into improved sales, the company said.

"It was a love it or hate it kind of spot," said Bob Holtcamp, Wendy's vice president of brand marketing.

The campaign was built on the slogan "That's right." It was meant to rely on humor to emphasize the chain's made-to-order food and unfrozen beef it sought to build sales among younger consumers. In several ads, customers wear a red wig that looks like the pigtails on Wendy, the chain's mascot based on founder Dave Thomas' daughter of the same name.

The slogan for a new campaign, released Monday at Wendy's national convention in Orlando, Fla., is "It's waaaay better than fast food. It's Wendy's."

The red wig remains part of the campaign, designed by kirshenbaum bond + partners, but the focus is on the company's familiar Wendy logo.

The logo opens and closes each ad. An animated Wendy holds a fishing rod in one ad to introduce the new fish sandwich. In other ads, she takes a bite out of a hamburger or holds a piggy bank to promote Wendy's super value menu.

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.

The change comes after the chain reported this month that sales at stores opened at least a year considered a key indicator of a retailer's strength fell 0.8 percent at U.S. company restaurants in the fourth quarter compared with a 3.1 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2006. At franchise restaurants, same-store sales were up 0.2 percent for the quarter, compared with a 2.7 percent increase the year before.

For the year, same-store sales rose 0.9 percent for company stores and 1.9 percent for franchise stores compared with a 0.8 percent increase in U.S. company stores and a 0.6 percent increase at U.S. franchise stores in 2006.

After reaching a high of $44.22 last summer, Wendy's stock price has been cut nearly in half, closing down $1.34, or 5.3 percent, to $23.92 Monday. Its 52-week low is $22.48.

The company formed a committee last spring to study options to boost its stock price that could include a possible sale. Billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, who controls 9.8 percent of Wendy's stock along with his allies, submitted an offer to buy Wendy's in November, but the proposed price is lower than the $37 to $41 a share that he previously said it was worth.

The committee said Monday in a statement that its review is nearly complete.

Wendy's spends about $300 million a year in advertising. The red wig campaign was developed by Saatchi & Saatchi, the agency responsible for Wendy's "Where's the Beef?" campaign.

The campaigns are among several Wendy's has tried since the 2002 death of Thomas, who appeared in more than 800 ads.

Wendy's, based in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, operates about 6,700 restaurants in the United States and aboard. It trails McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Holdings Inc. in the burger business.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-01-29 10:41:11

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946 comments

GJohns751 10:39:49 AM Sep 10 2008

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since wendys bought out arbys how come we dont see the change in menu it would be a big change if they did to sell both hamburgers and roast beef .

TomKellyCartoons 11:38:50 AM Jan 31 2008

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I just never understood the idea behind a guy in Pippi Longstockings drag to sell a burger. No big deal, though. It wouldn't affect me in any way if I was in the mood for a burger and I happened to be passing a Wendy's. All fast burgers (except In-n-Out) make me ill, anyway.

Dicshawood 09:07:14 AM Jan 31 2008

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Never figured out what the red pigtailed guy was. It was annoying. Instead of being reminded of Wendys I was thinking how ridiculous the ad was.

Wpc0101 03:32:01 AM Jan 31 2008

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Wendy's used to be big on my list.
Prces went up, quality goes down. Snotty kids hired with attitudes, Need to recruit more seniors for the best service.
Dump the baconator and get back to basics,forget the gimmicks.
Reduce prices. Increased cost for chili is what stopped me from coming back.
It was watery, more beans than meat,container not full,cold...

FlyingMG 12:50:00 AM Jan 31 2008

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Wendy's might want to consider REPLACING Bob Holtcamp, Wendy's vice president of brand marketing. This ad campaign was a total disster. It actually drives men away. For chrissakes, stop humiliating men!

MarcInTex 12:41:24 AM Jan 31 2008

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Yeah, the creepy Burger "King" has to go next! What the hell are these guys thinking? Seeing a plastic man in bed with another dude in the morning, or serving my food to me at a cheap restaurant really makes me crave those burgers!

MarcInTex 12:33:23 AM Jan 31 2008

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After the first "pigtail" commercial I saw last year, I had no appetite for Wendy's again.

MKYLLAR 11:13:00 PM Jan 30 2008

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Does it surprise anyone that Wendy's sales are down nationwide?Did the execs finally realize the correlation?

Snossg1 11:12:14 PM Jan 30 2008

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Yeah!! I can eat there again. I thought those were the stupidist ads and a bad reflection on Wendy's and poor Dave Thomas and his daughter. I refused to eat there as long they continued those ads.