Wendy's founder, the late Dave Thomas, used to frequently appear in commercials touting his restaurant's signature items and taglines. But the chain's namesake, his daughter Wendy Thomas, has only appeared as the red-headed, pigtailed, freckled logo ...
Until now.
Wendy Thomas will be featured in an ad campaign in the Las Vegas market to introduce the chain's new Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburgers. There will be three different commercials featuring the elusive icon.
The commercials feature a now-older Thomas having "flashbacks" of her and her father and his mobile highway drive-thru idea. Thomas has been the face of Wendy's since 1969.
Dave's Hot 'N Juicy Cheeseburger line is being tested exclusively in the Las Vegas Valley area, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
It will go national in June 2011.
Wendy's also recently launched a new salad line and has been testing all-natural french fries with sea salt and potato skins.
From the story:
Las Vegas has been singled out as the test market for the new burger and ad campaign, as it often is for new products for the chain, Wendy’s Senior Vice President of Communications Denny Lynch said. "It’s an all-American city. You have a broad spectrum of people," Lynch said. "You can run a media campaign in this city that is pretty much contained to the Vegas area, so there’s no spillover to other cities."
