What in the world is Wendy's doing? New commercials run over the last few weeks show a new "spokesperson" which appears to be a cross-dressing man with a bright red wig with ponytails. Who, exactly, is this supposed to appeal to? I can't imagine very many men who think it's interesting or funny, and I doubt many women find it interesting or compelling either. Really, if you found yourself stuck in a forest and the first person who came along to offer assistance was a man in a red wig and ponytails, would you follow that person?
Is Wendy's saying that it's icon for lo these many years, the cute daughter of the founder, is no longer the right direction for the brand? OK, McDonald's no longer has a clown, so changing your original focus and branding is acceptable. But what Burger King and Wendy's are doing to their brands is simply self-destructive. I can't find anything valuable or attractive in a man in a red wig, and that image is now stuck in my brain. It will make me even less likely to go to a Wendys. Let's not even discuss what Burger King is doing with the creepy plastic King.
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