Ready to take your marketing viral? All you need is a tweet…
Actually, the Tweet is just the beginning. You probably need a few thousand other things.
Behold: Wendy’s, the American Burger Chain, launches new burgers today.
Here’s a video where Wendy herself explains the new burger.
httpv://youtu.be/j2U4cR2c20s
Now, before you say “that’s cool” or “that’s lame” or “I don’t eat meat,” you probably need a little more background. Like what you’ll find in this video:
httpv://youtu.be/3oFxSKrMv5Q
If you weren’t alive way back when the very first Wendy’s “Where’s the Beef?” ad aired (January 10, 1984, starring Clara Peller), you probably think the guy in this commercial is just wearing an ironic throwback T-shirt of some sort. But it was huge, an amazing cultural meme (before the word “meme” really meant anything), and it gave rise to all sorts of pop culture awesomeness.
So…why NOT? Seriously, if you’re Wendy’s and you can bring a hefty dose of nostalgia, why wouldn’t you?
In fact, this campaign is borderline brilliant, and definitely meme-worthy, for a couple reasons.
1. “Engagement” at the point of purchase is what it’s all about. Right?
By resurrecting an old campaign and breathing new life into it, imagine the types of responses Wendy’s front-line employees will get at the store when someone buys this new, beefier burger.
“Here’s the beef!”
“You call this beefy?”
“Your tweets are dumb.”
The immediate ROI from this campaign isn’t going to be evident. You need to give this time – people need to try the new, beefier, jucier burgers before deciding to come back again. Or not.
But the engagement here is all about the discussion…at the point of purchase…about the actual product. Good use of dollars. But why else is this brilliant?
2. The “Where’s the Beef” Throwback doesn’t show the original commercial!
I’ve got to say that might be the coolest part of this campaign. You have to start looking for the ad on YouTube – the commercial with the young man wearing the shirt doesn’t show the Clara Peller commercial at all.
The old ad stands on its own merits – and the phrase became a catchphrase – so why grab the actual old commercial? Even more interesting when you visit reason 3:
3. The “I didn’t know that!” Factor.
Yes, Wendy’s was named after Dave Thomas’s daughter, Wendy. So they don’t revisit the old Clara Peller ad, but they do revisit the pig-tailed little Wendy ad – serving as a means of re-introducing Wendy, Dave’s daughter, AND the new burger. You’re bound to find something you didn’t know: There was an actual Wendy! She was Dave’s daughter! She’s now a spokesperson for Wendy’s!
Even if this is all just common knowledge, you actually have, in this marketer’s opinion, a BETTER throwback: to days where a guy starts a burger joint, names it after his daughter, and focuses in on quality food.
What can we learn here?
Time will tell if this is a breakthrough success, and if the “social” element of this campaign catches fire.
But, if you integrate with old content you have – “repurpose, repurpose, repurpose” – and you get “Holistic” with your social media (it’s not just one thing, it’s multi-faceted, etc.)…you have a chance at success.
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