VML recently launched a digital campaign for Wendy’s new barbecue offerings, entitled “#BBQ4Meric
The online campaign debuted with a kind of mock PSA, introducing Wendy’s new menu items as tackling the issue of “barbecue inaccessiblity” for people in places like Miami Beach, Cape Cop and Malibu. “Hi I’m a celebrity, and these are just a few of the geographically underprivileged places where millions of Americans don’t have easy access to quality barbecue,” says a solemn Carlton Alfonso Ribeiro in the ad. He’s joined by Ralph Macchio and Steve Austin for the effort, and the trio appear individually in a series of other videos for the campaign (stick around for a couple after the break).
In addition to the online videos, the digital effort includes a call to make barbecue the “National Dish of America” and an invitation to “sponsor” friends by tagging them on social channels using the hashtag “#BBQ4Merica” There was also a recent 24-hour tweet-a-thon event hosted by Ribeiro, in which participants helped unlock content and win swag.