What's that, Wendy's has a new slogan? What a huge surprise.

Wendy's changes taglines as often as I change the oil in my lawnmower. OK, I've never changed the oil in my lawnmower, but I'm told you're supposed to do it every year or so. This is precisely the lifespan of a Wendy's tagline. Nearly every year since Dave Thomas's death in 2002, the chain has chucked its tagline for a new one. Last year, Wendy's began making us all nostalgic for Wayne's World when it rolled out its latest failed line, "It's waaaay better than fast food." This was an urgent replacement for the wildly unpopular "That's right" red-wig campaign, which actually made the Mr. Wendy ads look good (sort of). Last fall, Wendy's execs vowed to stop the brand schizophrenia created by switching slogans so frequently. They lied. This time around, the No. 3 burger chain takes a page out of the Coke playbook by telling us, "You know when it's real." But I'm not buying this tagline as being the real thing. I've heard it all before. Since they can't bring Dave Thomas back, perhaps it's time to really go back to the well and trot out "Where's the beef?" Everyone loved those ads, and frankly, at this point, they can't do much worse.

—Posted by Kenneth Hein