Wendy’s has been around since 1969 and has launched several marketing campaigns throughout the years. As a fast food restaurant chain, Wendy’s seeks to deliver traditional American burgers and meals to its customers quickly and at an affordable price. In recent years, Wendy’s has found success in marketing its 4 for $4 campaign which allows customers to get four items for only $4. This has been particularly effective marketing to their college-aged audience as it provides a full meal for a cheap price. A myriad of these 4 for $4 ads have been run on the official Wendy’s Instagram page in addition to other promotions and limited-time specials. Wendy’s has shown its ability to adapt to an ever-changing social media advertising strategy as it posts once per week while adapting to current trends and using its NCAA partnership.
Below I will provide original posts followed by draw-overs highlighting good design principles:
Original 1
Draw-over 1
Here, we see how this ad uses the principle of proximity in its design. Every food item in the picture can be a part of a 4 for $4 meal, and Wendy’s uses proximity to keep these related items grouped together. There is a relation between all of the items, but the principle of proximity is used in sub-groups to distinguish items that come standard in the meal from those that can be chosen. The drink, fries, and chicken nuggets are placed directly in the center of the advertisement and grouped together as they are the default staple that accompanies each 4 for $4 meal. In subcategories, the sandwiches, burgers, and wraps are within closer proximity to each other as these indicate which one choice among them can be included to accompany the drink, fries, and chicken nuggets. This clever use of proximity establishes relationships between the items to each other and establishes how those relationships correspond to the selection of the 4 for $4 meal items.
Original 2
Draw-over 2
In this ad, an approximate use of the rule of thirds demonstrates that items were placed in the design to either intersect at points of interest or to lie along a line of interest. This helps the white space in the photo to provide good spacing rather than being “dead space.” Additionally, every item in this photo aligns with another item, whether it be horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The created effect provides organization and is aesthetically pleasing to the eye.
Original 3
Draw-over 3
Lastly, I’d like to analyze this post of the limited-time bacon maple chicken item served at Wendy’s. One of the well-executed principles of design in this post is the use of typography. The headline of the ad uses a dark, sans-serif, bolded, uppercase typeface which appears to have been achieved through custom wood-burning. It takes on additional meaning since the the title of the food item is the bacon maple chicken and it appears to be wood-burned into maple. This headline grabs the attention of the viewer using these various techniques. Good contrast is provided in comparison to the underlying font which uses traditional upper and lower case letters, with a smaller white typeface. Contrast is important when using two different typefaces and helps this post achieve successful typography.
Conclusion:
Wendy’s has been able to effectively utilize principles of good design to promote their 4 for $4 and special items campaigns. The use of proximity has helped establish relationship between items in the first ad. Following the rule of thirds in the second ad has helped the design place important items in locations of interest that are aesthetically pleasing. Lastly, Wendy’s has demonstrated in the third ad that they know how to effectively use typography that is meaningful, provides contrast, and relates to the message of the advertisement.
*Images obtained from the official Wendy’s Instagram Page: https://www.instagram.com/wendys/