Ice Cream Machine Broken? Wendy's Has a Frosty Fix

For nearly 55 years, Wendy's iconic Frosty has been the go-to sweet treat fix when fans' cravings strike. This past week, Wendy’s partnered with the infamous McBroken.com developer, to track where in the US a Frosty Fix was needed most, while the other guys’ ice cream machines were offline.

Being able to use the data from McBroken, Wendy’s saw that Chicago, Houston, Las Vegas, New York and Los Angeles were most in need of a solution for their ice cream woes. So, Wendy’s showed up in Chicago, one of the cities with the most offline machines, with delicious, reliable Frosty treats. 

After teasing that a 'fix' was coming, Wendy’s rolled up IRL to multiple Chicago locations where fans were in need of a sweet treat due to a down machine, and offered free Frosty treats.

According to the data, the other guys’ ice cream machines are most often down when cravings are high - between the hours of 11 am - 3 pm - and can be down for an average of two hours at a time - leaving consumers high and dry on their cravings. 

“At Wendy's, we know that consumers are looking for reliable experiences, from hamburgers made with fresh, never frozen beef to our famous Frosty, and we pride ourselves in being there for our fans where and when the cravings strike. The Frosty Fix program shows how Wendy's works to meet our customers' needs in a fun and innovative way and make sure they know they can count on Wendy's wherever and whenever they need a fix!” said Lindsay Radkoski, CMO Wendy's.

“Wendy has always been a little bit rebellious, especially when it comes to those moments when other fast food restaurants let you down. This was the perfect opportunity for her personality to show up outside of your social feed - fixing a well-known problem IRL and having a little fun with it.” said Alli Pierce, chief creative officer, VML.

Wendy’s took the fix nationwide with a simultaneous digital push around the $1 Frosty offer that was live at the time of the activation. 

Local Chicago Frosty fans and Wendy’s app users were delivered a timely notification alerting them to the $1 Frosty deal in the app. 

Wendy’s took over McBroken.com, adding Wendy’s locations to help consumers navigate the nearest place to get a cool and creamy treat when they encounter a broken ice cream machine at other places. 

Wendy's knows that when fans are craving a sweet treat, they deserve to have a reliable and delicious option.