It’s not often that we click on an ad just because it looks intriguing, so we have to hand it to Wendy’s for sucking us into its little animated short this morning. The banner that led us to it looked as though it might be promoting Zoloft (see Zoloft face above), since its central visual was one of those wistful black-and-white faces on a cheery red background. But the movie it links to at goodtobesquare.com is more like an homage to what happens when the anti-depressant treatment finally kicks in—and it never mentions Wendy’s. It stars a little square emoticon being followed slavishly by a bunch of chirpy circles to the 1970 tune “Ooh Child” by The Five Stairsteps, the feel-good hit of the entire twentieth century. (See Wendy’s emoticons at left.) According to this story, the TV version of the campaign will segue into some discussion of why square hamburger patties are better. One other note: isn’t it curious that the emoticons have legs, but no arms, and therefore, no fingers?
—Posted by Catharine P. Taylor
