I have an excuse for not writing earlier about the Wendy’s commercial where a guy eats a Steakhouse Double Melt in a packed airliner, and I think it’s a good one as far as excuses go: I haven’t flown anywhere for about three years.
If memory serves, my reaction to seeing the spot about “Mr. 14B” the first time was one of overwhelming indifference. It was just another of the many commercials I was destined to see that night, and I didn’t even bother to write a book I keep near the TV.
The only thing I remembered about it was that a guy was stuck in the middle seat of an airliner and that he was about to gobble some sort of Wendy’s burger.
That’s why I was surprised when I saw the number of comments about the spot posted on
Apparently the people who posted comments fly more often than I do and had a better reason to pay attention to the spot. I had forgotten what goes on in airplanes these days, as was pointed out by the person who offered this comment: “Who wants someone with a dripping smelly burger next to them?”
And so I watched the spot a few more times on YouTube. The commercial opens on passengers crowding into the plane, and of course a baby is wailing. The camera cuts to the guy in a middle seat. A voice-over says, “Yikes, you got the middle. That’s OK, you got Wendy’s new Steakhouse Double Melt.”
Two hot young women take the window and aisle seats next to him. Mild flirtation ensues.
There’s a product shot, and the camera cuts back to show the guy eating the burger. A final voice-over says, “Good move, Mr. 14B. You just landed in the best position to do what tastes right.”
Some of the comments about the spot dealt with the two hotties in neighboring seats, pointing out that they would never fall for a guy eating a burger on a crowded airliner.
No, you won’t attract beautiful women by eating a Wendy’s burger, any more than you would by drinking a brand of beer that gives nerdy guys in commercials the ability to wow the babes. But you’re supposed to think you can.
That’s my reaction to the spot. It’s a cliché.
Consider, though, the more personal reactions of those who offered blog comments on it. The spot affected them more directly because it depicted distasteful behavior that they either had encountered in the past or were hoping to avoid in the future.
Talk about the ability of advertising to mimic real life.
But there’s more at stake here than one commercial that doesn’t exactly fly with airline passengers, and that’s Wendy’s inability to connect with the core 18- to 34-year-old customers it’s targeting.
The chain sure has tried, but its TV campaigns since founder Dave Thomas died have been inconsistent and lacking in focus. Wendy’s has not been speaking in a clear voice to consumers, unlike the way Burger King has been speaking—really loud—to young males.
Wendy’s has acknowledged that it needs to reconnect with 18- to 34-year-olds and said future campaigns will do just that. But it’s tough to revive a stale relationship because consumers forget about brands that neglect them.
That doesn’t always happen, but in this case consumers might remember Wendy’s only as the brand that ruined their flight by encouraging people to eat hamburgers on airliners.
