lordkafei Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. PvP is not for meIn the 3rd Year of the BoycottReal-world money saved since FT/W: Hundreds of DollarsReal-world time saved since FT/W: Thousands of Hours Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dizzle229 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Heh, I liked the one where they basically admitted they stole a menu item from McDonald's. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lag2vDx2faQ Get back here so I can rub your butt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowpelt Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 ^^ lol.Never was one for fast food, and I"m a vegetarian so it matters little to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K4ylan Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 ^^ 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. ~~~The Harpy List~~~Harpy Facts~~~It's Super Effective~~~The Beginning~~~Harpy Therapy Center~~~Alg~~~Jedi Harpy~~~Rohirrim~~~Attenuation~~~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crocefisso Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. "Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me." - H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamykazee Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomy Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. Doomy edit: I like sheep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesset Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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... My skin is finally getting softI'll scrub until the damn thing comes off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku3220 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tesset Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. My skin is finally getting softI'll scrub until the damn thing comes off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2PM Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 But the King was awesome. It was probably one of the only redeeming factors, besides their food, that Burger King had. "Let your anger be as a monkey in a piñata... hiding amongst the candy... hoping the kids don't break through with the stick." - Master Tang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku3220 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duff Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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 | My Tumblr | Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danqazmlp Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. Want to be my friend? Look under my name to the left<<< and click the 'Add as friend' button!Big thanks to Stevepole for the signature!^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racheya Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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 edit for the [Tip.It Times]. I rarely write in [My Blog]. I am an [Ex-Moderator]. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riku3220 Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pennywise Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Does this mean there's not going to be any more BK Racer video games?? :( Eight Bananas, MD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giordano Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 Meh, I never eat at Burger King anyway. Plus the King looks freaky. :razz: Carls Jr all the way. :thumbsup: "The cry of the poor is not always just, but if you never hear it you'll never know what justice is." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sbrideau Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crocefisso Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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. "Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me." - H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eias Posted August 20, 2011 Share Posted August 20, 2011 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.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
decebal Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaklumen Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crocefisso Posted August 21, 2011 Share Posted August 21, 2011 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? "Imagine yourself surrounded by the most horrible cripples and maniacs it is possible to conceive, and you may understand a little of my feelings with these grotesque caricatures of humanity about me." - H.G. Wells, The Island of Doctor Moreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainy_Day Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 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. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)RIP Michaelangelopolous Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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