I honestly thought this was an opening to Captain America or some Marvel movie that always begins with a nefarious-looking vault/bunker. It’s not until we get to the :15 mark of the ad that we see what might be the best thing to happen to a blow dryer since its invention. Yes, some fellow is there in an ice bunker blasting what I’m to believe is a pile of impeccably stacked frozen patties. We’re then told to “Never settle for frozen beef” because, again, we’re monsters, America!

While a humorous spectacle, I’m not completely convinced this is the best use of $5 million to get us to care more about fresh beef or about fast food, which has been hurting in recent years. I think my main qualm lies in the messaging itself. The “never frozen” angle has been the forefront of Wendy’s marketing for decades. And I’ve seen a good amount of Wendy’s ads over the years. Yet, I still find myself wondering why I don’t care about fresh beef. And I’m willing to bet I’m not the only one.

Wendy’s made the big spend to show that frozen beef is undesirable. Why not start talking about why that’s the case? Would I be able to tell the difference between a patty that had been frozen and one that has never known the frost of life? If Wendy’s is going to get me to the register, this isn’t going to do it. 

If we’re going to talk frozen, talk to me about a chocolate Frosty with French fries dipped in it. When it comes to burgers, I guess I’m just not that picky to care about the temperature of the beef at the fast-food level. Wendy’s had a huge potential to really get people craving a burger again, and all this commercial left me with was the opposite.

Now, their Twitter account is another story. Seeing Wendy’s troll people is the juiciest thing they’ve grilled in years.

Side note: my wife will have to confiscate our blow dryer from me as I attempt a bathroom grilling party.