VML: Wendy’s Frosty Fix

McDonald’s infamous broken ice cream machines had become a cultural punchline and a widespread source of customer frustration. Working with VML, Wendy’s saw an opportunity to turn this cultural conversation into a win by promoting its iconic Frosty and winning over disappointed customers from its competitor.

Wendy's devised a creative solution by using the McDonald’s app to track broken McDonald's ice cream machines. Using this data, Wendy's identified locations with high concentrations of broken machines and deployed custom Frosty trucks to those areas.

With geolocation technology, they sent push notifications to nearby customers, inviting them to enjoy a free Frosty instead. This direct, real-world intervention, coupled with a nationwide digital push for their $1 Frosty offer, allowed Wendy's to show up precisely where their competition fell short.

The "Frosty Fix" campaign transformed customer disappointment into significant brand engagement and sales, resulting in 1.17 billion earned media impressions, 52.1 million Frostys sold and a remarkable +33% increase in Frosty sales, proving the direct impact of turning a competitor's weakness into a powerful brand advantage.