Calling all redheads to the entrance! Wendy’s is honoring its roots by holding a look-alike contest for its iconic brand in New York Metropolis on Might 26, World Redhead Day.
Followers are inspired to indicate up as one of the best model of Wendy, the redheaded mascot with pigtails and freckles initially modeled after certainly one of Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas’s personal daughters. The competition winner earns free Dave’s single hamburgers for a yr.
In an announcement, Wendy’s stated redheads deliver a daring vitality and go away an impression—a presence the fast-food restaurant chain has at all times acknowledged as a part of its personal story.
“Since 1969, Wendy’s has leaned into what makes it totally different, and World Redhead Day is a second that displays that very same mindset: one which celebrates being unforgettable as a substitute of mixing in,” the chain stated in an announcement. “The look-alike contest brings that concept to life in a approach that’s social, visible, and enjoyable—a dwell celebration of the folks, persona, and spirit that make redheads, and Wendy’s, inconceivable to overlook.”
How do I enter the competition?
Contributors, who have to be 18 years or older, can enter the competition at Seaport Sq. in Manhattan’s Monetary District on Might 26. The occasion contains giveaways, photograph ops, and particular surprises.
The competitors will happen over three rounds. Would-be Wendys must seize the enduring look of the emblem IRL, put together a social media publish channeling the model’s tone for Nationwide Hamburger Day, and carry out an authentic Wendy’s industrial for judges. The judges’ scores will decide the grand prize winner.
A take a look at World Redhead Day Celebrations
Redhead Day celebrations started within the Netherlands in 2005. Dutch artist Bart Rouwenhorst put out a name for redheaded fashions for an artwork mission. He obtained numerous responses and introduced everybody collectively for a bunch photograph.
Yearly following, Rouwenhorst organized a redhead meetup, which grew into the annual Redhead Days festival. Attendees journey internationally for the three-day celebration, which options music, meals vehicles, and workshops tailor-made particularly to redheads. This yr’s pageant is ready to happen in August.
The primary and solely pageant within the U.S. devoted to celebrating redheads launched in 2015 in Illinois.
Wendy’s is not any stranger to going viral
Wendy’s is becoming a member of the viral pattern of look-alike contests, which have gained prominence over the previous two years. Celebrity look-alike contests have been held for Timothée Chalamet, Harry Types, Jeremy Allen White, Zendaya, and others.
Whereas Wendy’s is not any stranger to becoming a member of developments on social media to attach additional with followers, the tactic has additionally stirred up some controversy for the model through the years.
In April 2025, the chain commented on an X publish saying the return of singer Katy Perry from a celebrity-stacked suborbital house flight on Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin rocket. “Can we ship her again,” the official Wendy’s X account posted.
“Once we stated girls in stem this isn’t what we meant,” the model commented underneath a publish of Perry kissing the bottom upon her return. Widespread backlash throughout social media rapidly adopted, with many customers decrying the model’s feedback as out of line.
That prompted Wendy’s to situation an announcement to Folks: “We at all times deliver a bit spice to our socials, however Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent.”
A glance-alike contest could also be a approach for Wendy’s to work on rehabilitating its social media presence.
Some customers commented underneath the Wendy’s Instagram publish saying the look-alike contest that they’re nonetheless ready for one more announcement—who shall be Wendy’s chief tasting officer (CTO). In March, Wendy’s invited followers to submit purposes for the position to create content material and symbolize the model (and win a $100,000 prize).
“Y’all can’t be shifting onto your subsequent marketing scheme with out saying the CTO,” one person commented.
