ref: http://finance.yahoo...g-mascot-forbes

 

 

Fast-food chain Burger King is making a 180 degree shift in its marketing, with a decision to drop its "King" mascot and focus on sit down before you read this! product.

 

For years, Burger King had placed its bets on edgy commercials by creative powerhouse Crispin Porter + Bogusky, targeting men in their teens and 20s. Crispin's campaigns got a lot of attention, and plaudits from the advertising community. Unfortunately, however, advertising awards don't necessarily translate into sales, and Burger King has been badly lagging main rival McDonald's. According to consulting firm Technomic, Burger King's same-store sales declined 6% in the first quarter; compare that to a 3% rise for Mc Donald's.

This discrepancy in performance is not the result of McDonald's having more "creative" advertising or a hipper mascot (Ronald Mc Donald is many things hip he's not). But while Burger King was trying to sell consumers an edgy brand image, McDonald's focused on something much more mundane: selling burgers, fries and coffee. The rest is marketing history.

 

Now, under new ownership, and with a new management and marketing team, Burger King is focusing on what matters: updating the stores, fixing its food and changing its image. As Alex Maccedo, SVP, marketing, put it to USA Today: "People want a reason to go back to Burger King ... There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon."

 

Along with new management, Burger King has also hired a new ad agency, McGarry Bowen. Mc Garry's ads are often derided in ad industry circles as conventional, formulaic and unhip. The criticism isn't entirely unjustified ... but who cares? Last I heard, advertising is not about creating art house shorts; it's about selling stuff. Against that standard, McGarry's work tends to perform well. A new campaign by McGarry, launching this weekend, will introduce the California Whopper, made with guacamole.

 

Whether the new burger will catch on remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: the marketing campaign will give it a shot at success. The entire TV commercial will focus single-mindedly on sights and sounds of the burger's ingredients being washed and diced.

 

And amidst all this slicing and dicing, "the King" finds himself like Charles I and Louis XVI ... a head shorter.

 

It's good to be king, if just for a while

 

To be there in velvet, yeah, to give 'em a smile

 

It's good to get high and never come down

 

It's good to be king of your own little town. - Tom Petty

 

 

 

 

I'll miss those goofy commercials.

 

Heh, I liked the one where they basically admitted they stole a menu item from McDonald's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lag2vDx2faQ

^^

 

lol.

Never was one for fast food, and I"m a vegetarian so it matters little to me.

^^

 

lol.

Never was one for fast food, and I"m a vegetarian so it matters little to me.

 

I love fast food and I'm practically a carnivore. It still matters very little to me.

I don't live in the US and I've not been to BK in about four years, so I can't say it matters to me all too much.

McDonalds is seen as kids food here mostly. Adults don't really eat there, we have other more prominent forms of fast food - kebabs and such, sold at independent stores. Burger King - never saw one here, never ate one, haven't eaten at McDonalds for years atleast, hence it doesn't matter to me either.

Not to turn this into a what is the best fast food thread but BK is definately my favourite (although theres a lot less fast food chains in NZ).

I always liked the whoe 'King' thing, but it probaly doesn't matter at all.

This would be a nice change. The two Burger Kings in my town are probably the scurviest places here. They're disgusting. Your shoes literally stick to the ground everywhere you walk.

 

Though, they do have the play areas, which makes up for it. Now if only they'd let me in...

This would be a nice change. The two Burger Kings in my town are probably the scurviest places here. They're disgusting. Your shoes literally stick to the ground everywhere you walk.

 

Though, they do have the play areas, which makes up for it. Now if only they'd let me in...

...Scurviest? The two Burger Kings in your have the worse Vitamin C deficiency?

This would be a nice change. The two Burger Kings in my town are probably the scurviest places here. They're disgusting. Your shoes literally stick to the ground everywhere you walk.

 

Though, they do have the play areas, which makes up for it. Now if only they'd let me in...

...Scurviest? The two Burger Kings in your have the worse Vitamin C deficiency?

Err..yeah, except maybe replace Vitamin C with showers. Though, I imagine that most of the food is vitamin deficient anyway.

 

It's a slang term at my high school. Sometimes I forget that nowhere else uses it.

But the King was awesome.

It was probably one of the only redeeming factors, besides their food, that Burger King had.

Yeah, the King was one of my favorite mascots. The other is Jack from Jack in the Box. I really hope they don't take Jack away even though I don't even eat at Jack in the Box...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEVMkdScUZc

I don't watch TV, so I don't usually see the ads.

 

I've always gone to McDonalds over BK for some reason. For some reason, McDonalds just seems like 'faster food' than BK, haha.

 

And it's also closer to my house. :P

I don't think they use the king in the UK adverts anyway (never seen one). Most do what they say above, show the ingredients and the burgers, seem a bit boring to me.

 

I never go to Burger king. Why? Because they aren't in good locations. McDonalds has a nack of being in the right place when I want fast food, simple as that. No advertising, no preference in food, just location and ease.

Yeah the 'King' doesn't exist here afaik. And I go to McDonalds because I just prefer the food and there's far more of them around.

I agree that McDonalds is a lot more accessible. Where I live the nearest Burger King is on a military base, which I do have access to, but it closes really early and traffic is terrible around lunch time.

Does this mean there's not going to be any more BK Racer video games?? :(

Meh, I never eat at Burger King anyway. Plus the King looks freaky. :razz:

 

Carls Jr all the way. :thumbsup:

I haven't been to BK since they overcharged me... Twice... a few years back. This means that the news do not matter at all to me.

I agree with the people who've mentioned McDonalds' ability to be in the right place at the right time. Last summer, I was walking around Switzerland completely lost and hungry, and there was a petrol station with a McDonalds next to it that appeared all of a sudden virtually in the middle of nowhere. McDonalds is like a capitalist oasis.

Heh, I liked the one where they basically admitted they stole a menu item from McDonald's.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lag2vDx2faQ

"I don't think that guy is supposed to be here" made me laugh.

Back on topic, i prefer BK because it's easier to get here, even though McDonald's is more available in my country..

Last time I've even seen a Burger King was 3 years ago. I never notice them.

 

Although I do like the fact that Burger King has the guts to admit they stole from McD's; I'm so buying from them just because they don't lie like most other fast food stores.

I'm amused that I learned of this in my local printed newspaper before my online news feeds.

 

As far as appeal to children... well, yes, McDonald's excelled at that far, far more than Burger King ever did. I'm old enough to remember that the "King" was once pitched to children, and he had a group of other characters with him, most notably "Sir Shakes A Lot". They weren't ever really memorable like the McDonaldland characters were, so I understand how they've been easily forgotten.

 

But the news stories I read basically said that Burger King is trying to appeal to a broader audience. Young male teens and adults were hit pretty hard by the economic downturn, and BK really wants to appeal to women-- especially moms with children. McDonald's whole "McCafe", free wi-fi, iced coffees, etc.-- that's catering to the chick market and I apologize if that sounds offensive, but really the majority of people I see slurping cheap Italian-style coffee in paper and plastic cups, and hanging out in "coffee shops" are women about 21 to 45 years old. Plus, I'd also say that McDonald's probably puts more into their play areas than BK does. That's pretty important to parents (but if Subway ever got play areas-- I'd be there in a hot second with my kids).

 

So I guess Burger King wants to catch up and be hip with ALL the masses of ALL ages. The news article I read also pointed out that they might bring back the King later, in some different capacity.

The news article I read also pointed out that they might bring back the King later, in some different capacity.

Maybe I'm being thick, but what other possible purpose could a man dressed as a King with a plastic face and crown fulfil other than mascot? Chief Operations Officer?

I don't think they use the king in the UK adverts anyway (never seen one). Most do what they say above, show the ingredients and the burgers, seem a bit boring to me.

 

I never go to Burger king. Why? Because they aren't in good locations. McDonalds has a nack of being in the right place when I want fast food, simple as that. No advertising, no preference in food, just location and ease.

They quite often used the King in the adverts, especially in more recent ones. They were a lil funny but not too great.