It’s official! Carter Wilkerson’s (@carterjwm) call for a year’s supply of free nuggets from @Wendys has become the Tweet heard around the world.
With 3.42 million retweets, it has officially surpassed Ellen’s infamous selfie as the most re-tweeted tweet of all time.
HELP ME PLEASE. A MAN NEEDS HIS NUGGS pic.twitter.com/4SrfHmEMo3
— Carter Wilkerson (@carterjwm) April 6, 2017
But how did one high schooler’s plea for nuggets become what’s happening? Let’s take a look at where it all began.
It all started with a simple tweet from @carterjwm asking @Wendys how many Retweets would be needed for a year’s supply of free nuggets. To which Wendy’s responded, “18 million.”
“Consider it done,” Carter said.
As he embarked on a journey to reach his goal, the world chimed in to help Carter on his quest. Top brands, celebrities and influencers got behind his efforts, including @tyleroakley, @debbyryan, @Zedd, @marcorubio, @kathygriffin, @jaketapper, @zaralarsson, @Busyphilipps2, @microsoft, @amazon, and @hollisterco.
The tweet reached major milestones along the way.
Wilkerson has become more popular than ever. On 1 April he had 138 followers. He now has over 100,000, he is officially verified on Twitter, and #NuggsForCarter has a custom emoji featuring a box of Wendy’s nuggets. Carter and his family knew the world stage provided an opportunity for them to do something more than just eat some nuggets. They wanted to make an impact.
“I want to give back. I am so blessed to have an opportunity to use my voice to support something I believe in. And really grateful to everyone who Retweeted my post. They made this happen.”
Carter Wilkerson@carterjwm
As a nod to his success, @Wendys will provide Carter with a gift card for a year’s worth of free nuggets and a $100,000 donation in Carter’s name to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (@DTFA), which finds loving homes for children in foster care. Carter is raising additional dollars for the cause on his website nuggsforcarter.com.
Wendy’s has a long history of leveraging Twitter to communicate with people. From the first-ever interactive March Madness Bracket run entirely through Twitter’s direct messages to a live-streamed, behind-the-scenes look at how to make the Baconator featuring influencer Cody Johns, Wendy’s is consistently using its unique brand voice to connect with a wide audience.
“We could not be more excited for Carter for having broken the record of the most Retweeted Tweet of all time. We love Twitter because it lets us talk with people in real and fun ways, and they have been loving us back as a result.”
Kurt KaneChief Concept and Marketing Officer, The Wendy’s Company
Congratulations, Carter!
