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If you have an old, red Halloween wig lying around or have just been looking for a chance to rock some flaming pigtails, burger chain Wendy’s has a contest for you. The fast-food franchise is hosting a look-alike competition for the iconic face of the company in honor of World Redhead Day on Tuesday, May 26, in New York City.
Even with redheads making up just 1% to 4% of the US population, they’re “impossible to miss,” the company said in a press release.
“They bring a bold, unmistakable energy that turns heads and leaves an impression –- the kind of presence Wendy’s has always admired and recognized as part of its own story.”
The wacky contest, open to anyone 18 and older, encourages entrants to show up in their best versions of Wendy — which means “natural red hues and pigtails to wigs, freckles, and the iconic blue and white collared dress.”
Festivities will kick off at 19 Fulton St. at Seaport Square — a nod to the chain’s famously square burgers — with check-in at 3:30 p.m. and judging from 4:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The entrant offering the best homage to smiling, pigtailed gal — the restaurant, founded in 1969, was named after founder Bob Thomas’ daughter, Wendy Thomas Morse — will receive free Dave’s Single hamburgers for a year.
In round one, contestants will take the stage to show off their best Wendy’s look. Round two will see contestants preparing and reading aloud their best social media-worthy post, channeling the brand’s playful tone for National Hamburger Day, which is on May 28.
For round three, the top three to five finalists will perform an original, Wendy’s-style commercial. Applause from the crowd and judge scores will determine the grand prize victor.
The company proclaimed in a press release that the company has always leaned into “what makes it different,” noting that World Redhead Day “reflects that same mindset: one that celebrates being unforgettable instead of blending in.”
However, in an ironic twist, Bob Thomas’ daughter, while “very proud” of her dad’s career accomplishment, rarely disclosed her low-key celebrity status to strangers.
“I would never, if I met a lot of new people, I would never tell them who I was,” Morse admitted. “It’s usually someone else that says it. And then it gets awkward, and then it gets all better.”
She eventually accepted her stardom later in life.
“Probably 10 years before my dad passed, we talked about my name and namesake, and he just goes, ‘I’m really sorry I did that to you,’” Morse recalled. “To hear your father say, ‘Probably should’ve just named it Dave’s and that would have been a lot easier,’ was a lot.”
