Perdue offer up the next best wing

Each year, few foods stand out at a Big Game feast more than chicken wings. 

In 2025, more than 1.47 BILLION were consumed, according to the National Chicken Council. Colle McVoy and Perdue are capitalising on that moment with their latest campaign, The Next Best Wing. Nowhere do fans take their wings more seriously than in Buffalo, N.Y., the iconic football city that serves as the birthplace of the eponymously named Buffalo chicken wings.

To kick things off, Perdue launched a citywide takeover designed to convince locals the brand’s Air Fryer Ready Crispy Wings are just as good as those found at Buffalo’s legendary wing joints. The tongue-in-cheek, but genuinely serious campaign included billboards, transit ads and even a full-page spread in The Buffalo News.

Perdue enlisted a cast including Buffalonians and New Yorkers with ties to the city, including Buffalo football player and hometown hero, Joe Andreessen, to weigh in on its wings. While no one dared declare Perdue Air Fryer Ready Crispy Wings better than what Buffalo’s bars have perfected, each interaction builds the case that Perdue delivers “the next best wing.”

The campaign features a :60 hero film supported by :30, :15, and :06 cutdowns, shot documentary-style in local bars and at tailgates. Buffalo wing loyalists share their unshakable opinions about their city’s most sacred food. 

The fun lives in the tension: Perdue’s respectful attempt to earn a place among Buffalo’s wing legends versus the locals’ fierce resistance to crowning anything new. In the end, the campaign positions Perdue’s wings in legendary company, even if they stop just short of dethroning the hometown heroes.

Dave Fransen, Executive Vice President of Earned Creative, Colle McVoy: "With ‘The Next Best Wing,’ we didn’t try to out-Buffalo Buffalo. We set out to earn a spot alongside the legends. Acknowledging Perdue wings might only be 'The Next Best Wing' in Buffalo might seem self-effacing, but in reality, there is no city more iconic for its passion for wings. We’re proud to take second place in Western New York, because we know if we can make it there, we’ll make it anywhere."

Jody Hallman, VP of Integrated Marketing at Perdue: "This was a concept that, once we saw it, energized us because it made so much sense. 'The Next Best Wing’ strikes a perfect balance between humour and credibility as a tongue-in-cheek take on Perdue’s place in wing culture. And if Perdue’s Air Fryer Ready Crispy Wings can hold their own where wings matter most, they’ll deliver at any Big Game spread."