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Wendy’s recruits Karate Kid to promote pulled pork menu

September 30, 2014

Wendy's today announced it has partnered with actor/filmmaker Ralph Macchio, actor/dancer Alfonso Ribeiro, and pro wrestling Hall of Famer Steve Austin to promote its new BBQ pulled pork menu.

Wendy's launched the first in a series of #BBQ4Merica online videos, which examine places throughout the country where people don't have "easy access to quality barbecue," such as Miami Beach, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and Malibu, California.

The first video is available now at bbq4merica.com.

Ribeiro, Macchio and Austin are helping Wendy's raise awareness of the "barbecuilly deprived." According to a news release, Ribeiro and Macchio, residents of the "barbecue-deprived" cities of Los Angeles and New York City respectively, join Austin, a native Texan, in a PSA-style launch video available today on Wendy's Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Tumblr.

Wendy's will be releasing individual videos of each of the three celebrities promoting one of the new BBQ pulled pork products throughout he next few weeks.

"Wendy's believes good barbecue should be a right for every American, not a privilege reserved for individuals living in the barbecue belt," said Derek Detenber, Wendy's VP, Brand Marketing, in the release. "Our #BBQ4Merica campaign infuses nostalgia and humor into traditional cause campaign tactics to rally Wendy's fans under a common platform and celebrate our great-tasting new BBQ Pulled Pork offerings."

Wendy's is also offering the chance to win free giveaways to fans who "sponsor" their friends by tagging them on social media channels using the hashtag #BBQ4Merica

Finally, on Oct. 8, Ribeiro will join Wendy's to host a portion of a 24-hour barbecue-themed Tweet-a-Thon, a nod to fundraising telethons. Ribeiro will also respond in real-time to consumer tweets and act out specific barbecue-related requests.