Marketing is officially being helmed by middle-aged Millennials as evidenced today by the release of an emo EP from Wendy’s.
Wendy’s is not a band you haven’t heard of. It is exactly the entity you were thinking of when you said to yourself, “Wendy’s? Like the fast food place?”
The Emo EP Release
The Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot EP is what happens when people who were teenagers in decade that followed the turn of the millennium and emotionally imprinted on the scratched surface of a Taking Back Sunday CD find themselves in marketing positions and seek the solace of nostalgia that they can’t find in being able to afford a house.
That’s far too much analysis already. The six-song EP is fun and features singers from Memphis May Fire, Anberlin, Silverstein, blessthefall, State Champs, and Holy Wars baring their angst about burgers, fries, nuggets and a cold Frosty with pithy titles like “The Best Combo Meal on the Worst Night of My Life.”
You can hear Beau Bokan of blessthefall belt out that one and sing lines like “I’ll take another Dave single cause I’m single again.” Other singers on the EP include Matty Mullins, Chloe Kinnon, Shane Told, Derek DiScanio, and Kat Leon. Online credits say that the EP is a collaboration between Wendy’s and Rise Records.
A Hint of Emo Earlier This Week
Wendy’s hinted at going emo earlier this week when online images of their red-headed logo got a new swoop of hair over one eye and thicker eyeliner for the other while her pigtail ribbons and collar were dyed black.
Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot adds to the paper trail that someone in the restaurant’s promotional department is still blacking their eyes. In 2019, on national #NationalRoastDay, the fast-food chain took shots at Miss May I, Atreyu, Hopeless Records and Victory Records, hinting at someone in the company having a fondness for the heavy and emotional sounds of the early 2000s. Two of the bands from the current EP got burned seven years ago, with Wendy’s lobbing humorous insults at Memphis May Fire and State Champs. Then there’s that time Capital Vices and Makena played in a Wendy’s.
It really wasn’t just a phase for someone at Wendy’s. The release of the Songs to Listen to in a Wendy’s Parking Lot EP is a testament to the lasting impact of emo music on the marketing strategies of Wendy’s, and it will be interesting to see how this unique approach to marketing is received by fans and customers alike.
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