The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2019
Wendy's attacked Fortnite's frozen beef and won the first Social Grand Prix
When Fortnite's burger team froze its beef, Wendy's joined Team Pizza and streamed itself destroying freezers; Grand Prix.
Wendy's
The solution
Only 30% of consumers knew Wendy's served fresh, never-frozen beef, and the chain's young target audience was living inside Fortnite. Paying for in-game sponsorship was expensive, and tweeting about the game from the sidelines was noise.
Then Fortnite introduced Food Fight, a mode pitting Team Burger against Team Pizza — and Team Burger stored its beef in a freezer. Wendy's saw the opening: it joined Team Pizza and 'killed' freezers in-game, playing as a Wendy-like character, while streaming the whole war on Twitch.
The stunt dramatized the brand claim as gameplay, let gamers choose sides, and generated hundreds of thousands of live viewers plus endless clips — winning the first-ever Social & Influencer Grand Prix at Cannes 2019.
Why it worked
- Wendy's brand claim was dramatized as an in-game war, not an ad
- A real Twitch stream gave the stunt live audiences and authenticity
- Team Pizza framing let gamers choose sides, driving organic participation
- Fortnite's own lore handed Wendy's the premise for free
What can be applied
When a cultural world has a rule your brand stands against, enter that world as a character and act out your claim — gameplay and streaming become the media.
Aftermath
'Keeping Fortnite Fresh' won the first-ever Social & Influencer Grand Prix at Cannes Lions 2019 and eight Lions in total, and became the benchmark case for brands entering games through participation instead of sponsorship.
Sources
- VMLY&R Collects the Inaugural Social and Influencer Grand Prix for Wendy's Work
- VMLY&R: Wendy's Keeping Fortnite Fresh
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