Earlier this year, Wendy's set out on a mission to score millions of likes to bring back one of its hottest sellers. And it worked — quickly.
When the fast food chain discontinued its spicy chicken nuggets back in 2017, a lot of customers were very, very disappointed. And even though Burger King brought the heat with its own version of the crispy meal shortly after, it didn't seem to fill the void for nugget fans.
In May, the chain announced that it's officially bringing back those spicy nuggets on Aug. 19. But now, it seems, they're coming back to "all restaurants" even sooner — Monday, Aug. 12!
And it all started with a digital campaign led by Chance the Rapper.
The performer tweeted, "Positive Affirmations for today: I WILL have a good day, I Will succeed today, Wendy’s WILL bring back spicy nuggets at some point please please Lord let it be today."
That's when Wendy's — which is known for using social media to stir up some fast-food drama — stepped up to the plate.
"Y’all keep asking, so here’s your chance," the chain's social media team wrote. "The people in charge say if you guys can get our tweet (this one right here) to 2 Million likes, they will bring SPICY CHICKEN NUGGETS BACK. Let’s freakin’ do this!"
The request brought social solidarity across Twitter to bring back the nuggets.
A lot of tweeters took the promo pretty seriously.
And anyone who tried to say that Burger King's spicy chicken nuggets were enough were directly slammed by its competitor.
As the number of likes climbed, fast-food fans were filled with hope.
There was plenty of excitement as the numbers continued to climb.
When the tweet reached 2.1 million likes after just 48 hours, Wendy's declared that the spicy nuggets would officially be returning at some soon-to-be-announced date.
Now we know: the nuggets will be coming back this coming Monday to restaurants nationwide.
A version of this story originally ran on May 6, 2019.
