The logo of Wendy’s is famous for the cheerful girl with red hair and two funny pigtails. She is based on the daughter of the company founder Dave Thomas.
For the first time, the portrait was redrawn in a new style. The artists removed the childish mood and vivid emotionality from the girl’s face.
The New Wendy’s Logo
In 2013, Wendy’s debuted its first new logo in 29 years. The company shelved the boxy old Western lettering and replaced it with a sleeker, modern take on the brand icon coupled with breezy handwritten fonts.
The new logo is much friendlier, and the freckled, smiling girl with her two pigtails remains more or less unchanged. However, there’s a hidden message in the new logo — and you might not be able to see it if you’re not paying attention!
It turns out that the word “mom” is spelled out on the girl’s collar. Though Wendy’s has denied any secret intentions behind this, it’s hard to deny that the word is very fitting for their brand.
The Wendy’s logo has gone Viral
In an era where social media often goes viral at the most unexpected times, Wendy’s recently went rogue with a hilarious Twitter marketing campaign. The brand’s witty tweets defending its mascot from an aggressive competitor have earned them millions of followers.
In a world where consumers are craving more than just hamburgers, they want integrity from their brands – and Wendy’s isn’t afraid to show it. That’s why it was only a matter of time before the fast-food giant began to embrace a more tongue-in-cheek attitude toward competition.
The new campaign comes from Wendy’s mascot, Melinda Lou, who has been given an emo makeover in the form of a side swept fringe, black streaks, and double ear-piercing. The reimagined logo can be seen on the side of Wendy’s restaurant, per Alt Press.
But the emo look doesn’t stop there. In fact, a rare Wendy’s store in Hartsville, South Carolina has a mascot with black hair instead of the iconic red hue. This mascot is believed to be unique among the 6,828 worldwide.
Logo History
When founder Dave Thomas opened his first restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, he knew he wanted a character to represent the brand. That’s how he got his daughter’s face as the first logo for Wendy’s restaurants.
It’s an image of a smiling girl with red hair and blue stripes on her dress. She has two short pigtails and friendly eyes.
Since then, she’s been associated with the brand name and has been used as a mascot for Wendy’s in different versions of the emblem. The girl’s image has remained almost the same for decades.
In 1976, a redesign was made of the emblem that featured a more mature style for the portrait of the girl. The artists removed the childish humor and vivid emotionality from her face, making it more formal.
The designers also repositioned the phrase “Old Fashioned Hamburgers” below, enlarging it. This was a small change, but it helped make the logo more appealing to consumers. The slogan was placed on a bright yellow background. This logo is still used at a few locations.
What is the meaning of Wendy’s Logo?
The Wendy’s logo features a smiling girl with red hair and two short pigtails. It’s the mascot of the fast food restaurant that was founded in 1969 by Dave Thomas.
The logo is based on the image of Wendy, Dave’s daughter. Her name is Melinda Lou Thomas-Morse, but she got the nickname Wendy because she had trouble pronouncing some letters.
To keep her happy and playful, Dave Thomas decided to include his daughter’s face in the company’s visual identity. He chose a funny eight-year-old girl with red pigtails and freckles, who looks very much like Wendy herself in real life.
Since then, she’s been the face of Wendy’s and is depicted in its logo, as well as on its menus.
The newest logo was unveiled in November 2012 and received final approval in 2013. It ditches the retro serif font the restaurant chain had used for 29 years and replaces it with a modern script that looks like handwriting. The pigtailed girl appears older and more mature in the new logo than she did in the previous one.
What does Wendy’s Logo symbolize?
The Wendy’s Logo symbolizes the main principle of the fast-food chain – creating a friendly atmosphere for customers. The company name appears in large red letters, and there is a thin winding pattern, which turns into a circle at the bottom of the logo.
The girl symbol is depicted in the center of the circle. She smiles kindly and has freckles on her face, giving the image of naturalness, ease, carelessness, and spontaneity. Her outfit is blue and white with a striped collar.
She has two short pigtails, which she braids with blue bows. The stripes of her dress are also the same color.
Another symbol of the company is its slogan, which is written in big red type at the top of the circle. It is a catchphrase for the restaurant’s burgers called “Old Fashioned Hamburgers”.
Despite its recent rebranding, the Wendy’s Logo has remained unchanged for more than 30 years. This is an outdated design strategy that is unlikely to attract new customers. Its unwillingness to change is a major problem, and young people can be turned off by its appearance.
What is the hidden message in Wendy’s logo?
Fast-food chain Wendy’s debuted a new logo last year. It shelved the boxy old Western lettering that it’s known for and instead used a sleek, modern take on Wendy’s icon with breezy handwritten lettering.
In the center of the logo, you can see the portrait of founder Dave Thomas’ daughter. This eight-year-old girl is the inspiration for Wendy’s and the name of their franchise.
It’s a familiar image to everyone. The freckled, smiling girl with two pigtails and a striped collar has stayed the same throughout the years.
But a recent update to the logo has made it friendlier than ever before. The redundant details have disappeared and attention is focused on the happy girl’s smile.
However, a post on StockLogos spotted a word hidden in the ruffles of the girl’s collar: “Mom”. Culinary sleuths thought this was a nod to the restaurant’s roots in home-cooked foods and its goal to give customers the feeling of home when they visit the chain.
Why is Wendy’s mascot a girl?
The Wendy’s mascot is a funny eight-year-old girl with red pigtails and freckles. She’s not just a cartoon character – she’s the daughter of company founder Dave Thomas and his wife Melinda Lou.
He wanted to name his restaurant after one of his children and turn it into a family business. But he struggled to find a child’s name that fit the nostalgic, family-values persona he wanted.
Finally, he found the perfect name and mascot in his fourth child’s nickname – Wendy. She had trouble pronouncing some letters and so her family started calling her Wendy.
So, when Thomas created Wendy’s logo, he named it after his daughter and incorporated her nickname in the logo.
This is a long-standing tradition of American branding that dates back to Jell-O and Morton Salt. It’s an effective way to create a brand personality and make it stick in people’s minds.
But this week, Wendy’s Canada has taken it a step further by ditching the famously red pigtails for gray hair. It posted a new profile picture of the fast food chain’s mascot, with a gentle gray shade, on its Twitter feed Thursday. It also shared the photo on Instagram and used the hashtags #LisaLaFlamme and #NewProfilePic to explain the change, along with star emojis.
Why did Wendy’s change its logo?
The Wendy’s logo has been around for a while now, but recently, the company decided to change it. Instead of keeping the original version, the company’s UK locations have been adopting a completely different look for their mascots.
The new logo was designed in partnership with Camden Open Air Gallery and features a radical new look for Melinda-Lou. She’s been transformed into a punk, bouffant quiff, and emo-themed mascot.
When Dave Thomas started his restaurant, he decided on a girl as the company’s mascot. He instructed his daughter to collect her hair in pigtails and take photographs of it, which he then used as the brand’s logo.
The original Wendy’s logo was based on the image of Dave’s daughter, Melinda. She had red hair, friendly eyes, and two short pigtails braided with blue bows.