Wendy’s “REAL”ly can go F*@% themselves! Clicking the “dislike” button on Wendy’s Realness Challenge Promotion.

Call it a tad bit over reactionary, call it being self conscience, but having Wendy’s tell me I am basically a worthless waste of space was not how I had envisioned starting off my Friday. Being a career long branding and marketing professional myself, I am somewhat perplexed by the tactics employed by the latest Wendy’s Old Fashioned Hamburgers promotion on Facebook.

Yes, that’s right, there is not one thing I am REAL or passionate about. I am hopelessly devoid of being or worth and my one saving grace is a Wendy’s hamburger. According to the little pigtailed girl with red hair and freckles,”if that doesn’t work, there is nothing anyone can do.” But au contraire mon fraire!

Alas, I can let my voice be heard via the internet in hopes that my passions, and thus, my self worth, can be redeemed.

I ask you this- Where is the community building value in telling someone “Whoa. You’re 0% REAL” and “At this point, you might as well just give up.”

Wendys Facebook REALNESS CHALLENGE

How does this translate into a positive and value added customer community building experience?

This is precisely the response I received via the Wendy’s Facebook Realness Challenge promotion this morning when visiting their fanpage.  Further more, if I were not a somewhat well-adjusted individual, confident in my being and presence, it may have been just the sort of thing to send me off the deep end.

Imagine this scenario, tragic as it may be-

You are an individual who is, trying as you may, struggling with life. Certain conditions, such as chronic depression, exist within individuals as we all know, which leave them with a devalued sense of being and self. How would receiving a message of this sort impact someone in that state of being? It’s demeaning enough to me, although I would consider myself an average consumer, well adjusted in my metal health. Could you imagine the possible impact it could have on someone who might take it in a different manner?

Imagine the mindset of someone who has recently been laid off from work, struggling to find a job with a decent paying wage- or one at all. You are reduced to taking a job at a fast food restaurant making wages well below the means which will support your family. Your mortgage is slipping away, foreclosure looms, and the bill collector’s call 24/7. This scenario is one in which an individual may be reduced to a state of low self worth and depression. Reading such negative feedback as that which I received from the Wendy’s Realness Challenge may have been setting the table for the latest nightly news headline-

“Unemployed gunman, offended by Wendy’s promotion, opens fire on unsuspecting lunchtime crowd.”

We have all heard similar stories and it’s a deeply disturbing commentary on today’s society. Although a very real fact, we will leave that for further discussion in another forum.

The Wendy’s Corporation has always given me a favorable impression as a fast food provider for a number of reasons. For starters, there is founder Dave Thomas, whose BIO reads as a testament to what one man’s will and resolve can achieve not only in his advancement, but to all those his life touched. Although a high school drop out, Dave built a thriving business based on the principles learned from his adoptive grand mother- “Doing the right thing and treating people well.”

Through the assistance of his business successes and “doing the right thing”, Dave charitably gave of himself to his community in the form of national adoption reform efforts (himself having been an adoptee), Cancer research, formation of various medical facilities as well as a host of other philanthropic endeavors. Five values, self admittedly, governed the life of Dave Thomas:

1. Quality is our recipe
2. Do the Right Thing
3. Treat People With Respect
4. Profit is Not a Dirty Word (leading to #5)
5. GIVE BACK!

After reading his bio and the struggles life threw at him, Dave easily could have been that guy on the evening news instead of the shining example of entrepreneurship his legacy will stand to be.

There was a quality to Dave’s recipe for sure. From his insistence of dirty mop water’s inability to clean a floor to Wendy’s use of never frozen, 100% all beef patty’s, Thomas was a quality guy all the way. “Just Be Nice” was a frequent quote I remember hearing as a motto. I remember the Wendy’s Commercials of the 80’s featuring Dave, who always seemed as the nice, neighborly guy you could always count on to borrow a cup of sugar from or to check in on you when you where ailing. He just exuded “niceness” with his kind demeanor, gentle smile and soft voice.

Wendy’s is also to be commended for their animal welfare program. Of course we are eventually going to eat you Mr. Cow. To some, animal welfare programs may seem a bit silly, but from this writer’s point of view, it makes sense to add to the quality of food you put in your body. Ours is a time when it has long been the corporate norm to cut corners (something Dave was adamantly against) by using food stuffs that are either of questionable origin or genetically and chemically enhanced to boost a companies bottom line with little attention to our health. This is evidenced by such noble efforts as those launched by Food, Inc and the Jamie Oliver Food Revolution. Such animal welfare reform programs are revolutionary in there impact on the food industry. I imagine Mr. Thomas is smiling down on these efforts.

Last, but not the least- As the parent of a teen who has been a Wendy’s employee throughout her formative years, now heading to college, I have been proud of the work place environment and the values instilled in the Wendy’s corporation which have been impressed upon her. These same “work hard”, “do the right thing”, “give back” principles have surfaced in how she presents herself and I believe she owes it in part to her experience as an employee of the corporation and Dave Thomas himself.

Despite all this, there is but this one minor cloud which hangs over my current impression of the Wendy’s brand. All though it has left a frown on my face and a somewhat bad taste in my mouth, I find comfort in the fact I believe Wendy’s will find a way to “do the right thing” and rebound from this temporary blunder.

In the immortal words of Dave Thomas- “Do The Right Thing” and “Treat People With Respect”. JUST BE NICE.

-Brand responsibly, considering how your social media and promotional actions may impact your community. Weld you media message with responsibility and fore thought- Your next value meal might come at the price of a bullet and be your last.