Like father like daughter

Heritage can be an important part of a brand. It's important that Levi's are the product of the wild west. It's important that Ferrari has its roots in Formula 1 racing. And, it's important that Wendy's was founded by Dave Thomas.

So important in fact that the brand has wandered aimlessly in the 8 years since his death. You could tell from his performances in his commercials that Dave wasn't much of an actor. He was first and foremost, a product man. And as such his sincerity came through. If anything he represented the anti-McDonald's making the square burgers to order. Wendy's always seemed to be focused on quality rather than trying to crank out as many burgers as possible.

So now Wendy's advertising agency is tapping into that heritage by creating new spots that feature Dave's daughter and the namesake for the restaurant, Wendy.



It's not a bad spot. She has the same awkward folksiness as her father. The opening reminds you of the original promise of the brand. And the new product looks as though it will deliver on the promise.

Will this spot reenergize the franchise? Probably not. While she's definitely sincere, the spot's a little flat. And they can't open every commercial with a bromide from Dave. We'll see if she grows into the roll as her father did. If not, they'll be looking for yet another campaign in the next few months.