As social media seems to prove time and again, going “viral” isn’t necessarily something you can plan on – it tends to happen when you least expect it.

Case in point: fast food giant Wendy’s recently found itself on the receiving end of the right kind of attention this week when it proved to not only have a sense of humor about itself, but about its fiercest competitors, too.

Who Knew Insulting People Would Prove to Be Such an Effective Social Media Marketing Tactic?

Wendy’s viral attention began innocently enough, when Twitter users @TinyGrande19 tweeted “how do you feel that people build your restaurant besides a McDonalds?”

The reply, which came from Wendy’s official Twitter account, would make even the great insult comic Don Rickles sit up and take notice: “Even in the worst places, it’s nice for people to have hope.”

A 21st Century Approach to A 21st Century Brand

The viral barb is the latest of many signs that we’re not talking about your parents’ fast food chain anymore. Starting January 2, Wendy’s has begun transforming its brand for a new audience.

Gone are the days of polite, helpful, customer-centric interactions on social media – the type one would expect from such a time honored brand.

In its place is one of the “realest” marketing campaigns taking place on Twitter or any other network today and one thing’s for sure: people are already talking about it.

Other social media users are loving Wendy’s hilarious new attitude, but marketers have started to take notice as well.

Honestly, something about watching a big company openly roast its rivals feels like new territory for brands stuck in the usual loop of safe, uninspired messaging. A lot of companies talk about “authenticity,” but it’s not that common to see one actually risk something for it—maybe a little reputation or, who knows, maybe a handful of customers who like things more polite. But what Wendy’s pulled off here wasn’t just luck; there’s a clear sense they know exactly who their audience is and aren’t faking the confidence. Not every brand could—or should—pull this off, obviously, but seeing it land grabs your attention, at least for a minute.

And let’s be honest, this whole scenario has marketers squinting a little harder at their own brand voices. You can almost hear the meetings across the industry right now: “Should we try something like this?” Hint: probably not if it feels forced, or if your market isn’t craving that kind of bite. Still, what Wendy’s showed is the potential payoff when a brand stops filtering every word through layers of caution. It’s risky, no doubt, but every viral moment has a little bit of risk somewhere in the middle.

One marketer said “Wendy’s is a legacy brand. How and when did you get approval to go rogue?”

The new campaign has also been the subject of widespread media coverage, earning mentions on Anderson Cooper‘s CNN program, among others.

Lessons Learned for Marketers

So what can we learn about marketing from Wendy’s recent viral social media 2017 moment?

That consumers ARE craving more than just hamburgers – they’re putting a premium on honesty, too.

They don’t want to wade through lawyer-approved corporate speak whenever they interact with a brand. They want integrity.

They want something genuine. They want something, well, real.

Wendy’s is just the first brand to take this ball and run with it into a full-fledged (and hilarious) war on their competition, but you can’t argue that it isn’t already working for them.

Starting with the Wendy’s official “relaunch” on January 2, the company’s Twitter profile was changed to read “We like our tweets the same way we like to make hamburgers: better than anyone expects from a fast-food joint.”

It seems that not only are there a lot of people out there who agree, but they’re also hungry for hamburgers, too.

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