Wendy’s is throwing a Wendy look-alike contest in New York City today (May 26), and the winner walks away with free burgers for a year. The occasion is World Redhead Day.
The concept is simple enough. Show up as the best possible version of Wendy, the pigtailed, freckled redhead from the brand’s logo, modeled after one of founder Dave Thomas’s daughters. Nail it, and you get free Dave’s Single hamburgers, one per week for a year.
In its announcement, Wendy’s tied the contest to its long-standing celebration of being different. “Since 1969, Wendy’s has leaned into what makes it different, and World Redhead Day is a moment that reflects that same mindset: one that celebrates being unforgettable instead of blending in,” the chain said.
The company described the contest as “social, visual, and fun,” and a live celebration of what makes both redheads and the brand hard to forget.
How to enter
The contest is taking place at Seaport Square in Manhattan’s Financial District on May 26, with check-in beginning at 3:30 PM EDT and the main competition running from 4:15 PM to 5:30 PM EDT. You have to be 18 or older to qualify. There will also be giveaways, photo ops, and what the company is calling surprises at the event.
Three rounds decide the winner. Contestants have to pull off the logo look in real life, put together a social media post in the brand’s voice for National Hamburger Day, and, for the top finalists, perform an original Wendy’s commercial in front of judges. The highest-scoring contestant, as determined by the judges, will be crowned the winner.
Where Redhead Day came from
The celebration traces back to the Netherlands in 2005, when Dutch artist Bart Rouwenhorst put out a call for redheaded models for an art project, got way more responses than he expected, and ended up gathering everyone for a group photo.
He kept doing this every year. The meetup eventually became the annual Redhead Days festival, a three-day event with music, food trucks, and workshops aimed at redheads, drawing people from around the world.
The concept later spread to the United States, where the first major festival was held in Illinois in 2015.
This year’s Redhead Days festival is scheduled for August (August 28 – August 30) in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Wendy’s and the internet
Look-alike contests have had a moment over the past couple of years. People have staged them for Timothée Chalamet, Harry Styles, Jeremy Allen White, and Zendaya, among others. Wendy’s is simply hopping on that.
The brand is known for being loud online, which hasn’t always gone well. In April 2025, after Katy Perry’s return from a celebrity-packed Blue Origin suborbital flight, the company’s official Wendy’s account commented with a snarky, ‘Can we send her back.’
It then followed up under a photo of Perry kissing the ground with, ‘When we said women in STEM, this isn’t what we meant.’ The backlash came fast, with a lot of people calling the comments mean-spirited.
Wendy’s later addressed the backlash in a statement to People magazine: “We always bring a little spice to our socials, but Wendy’s has a ton of respect for Katy Perry and her out-of-this-world-talent.”
Sources: Wendy’s, People, Fast Company, Redhead Days