VML and Today the Brave Win Wendy's in Australia

WPP's VML and indie shop Today the Brave have been awarded the Wendy's business in Australia in line with the American chain's local opening.

TTB becomes the full service creative agency in this market, and VML - which also works with Wendy's globally - is the lead strategic and creative agency. The pair work alongside global strategic communications agency Burson.

"We are incredibly excited to welcome Wendy's on board and can’t wait to see where we can take the brand, bringing their unique personality to life within Australia," Jade Manning, creative partner at Today the Brave, told LBB.

"They’ve built a reputation for outstanding creative, all driven by their unmistakable tone of voice."

VML added, "Wendy's is one of VML's most iconic brands - and we inject that famous Wendy's 'sass' into the work in many markets around the world. We were thrilled to be selected by Wendy's as their lead strategic and creative agency in Australia; partnering to set the direction of the brand, establish the creative platform, and build out creative executions for the launch of Store #1 on the Gold Coast.

"We have worked on everything from the master brand playbook, to key outdoor sites, social assets, and in-store digital, including kiosk ordering. This has been months in the making, and it's only the beginning as Wendy's rollout more stores in Australia."

The first Wendy's store in Australia opened last month in Surfer's Paradise, Queensland, with a goal of opening 200 stores by 2034. The expansion began following a successful pop-up in Sydney, with the US brand signing a deal in 2023 to come to Australian shores.

Flynn Group is the master franchisee for Wendy's Australia, acquiring the license in 2023. It also holds the license for the 260 Pizza Hut restaurants in Australia, and operates hundreds of Wendy's, Taco Bell, Arby's, Applebee's, and Panera locations in the US.

Lauren Leahy, chief transformation officer at Flynn Group, said the brand has been working with all three agencies on the Australian roll out.

In Australia, the business will compete against category giants McDonald's, KFC, Hungry Jacks, and Red Rooster. US-born agency Wieden+Kennedy has just set up a Sydney outpost to service the McDonald's account after winning a chunk of the creative business.

Today the Brave launched in 2022, founded by former M&C Saatchi CEO Jaimes Leggett and creative leaders Jade Manning and Vince Osmond. It works with the likes of StrangeLove Beverages, Carnival Cruise Line, True North, and Westmead Fertility Centre.

Last month, it debuted StrangeLove's first brand campaign: a deadpan, tongue-in-cheek platform filled with one-liners like “I realised I hate my asshole children a long time ago”, and “I’m waiting for my parents to die so I can finally afford a house."