We decided to put ourselves in the shoes of every teenager in America getting ready for the high school prom. Next, we knew we had to look for the perfect date. Someone who was smart, attractive, and basically unattainable. You know, the girl next door. In the end, we knew it had to be Wendy’s. Yes, that Wendy’s. One of our top adversaries in the world of hamburgers and an absolutely savage troll on social media. We then found a location just outside Boston where a Burger King and Wendy’s sat side by side. It was the perfect place for one restaurant (teenager) to ask another restaurant (teenager) to the biggest social event of the year with nothing more than a simple street sign.

The marquee outside the selected Burger King in Lynn, MA was updated to read, “@WENDYS PROM?” Within a few days the sign was spotted by passersby and began to garner attention on social. Burger King then decided to post a photo of the sign to its own social media accounts (Twitter, Facebook). Soon thereafter, Wendy’s accepted our promposal on social, and the conversation captured the hearts of the internet. Burger King responded almost immediately on social with an image of its marquee sign yet again, but this time with a message that read, “SHE SAID YES!” with a corsage being held out in the King’s hand.

Burger King received over 98,000 social media mentions which led to a 338% increase in brand conversations. The desired response rate was a positive answer from Wendy’s. It was received and so, the response rate was 100%! The change in behavior was immediate. Wendy’s was no longer hostile toward Burger King, suddenly turning into a friendly ally.