Burger King Advertising

Burger King advertisingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burger King

Type Public (NYSE: BKC)

Industry Restaurants

Predecessor Insta-Burger King

Founded Insta-Burger King -July 28, 1953 in Jacksonville,

Florida

Current company -January 1955 in Miami, Florida

Founder(s) Insta-Burger King -Kieth J. Kramer and Matthew

Burns

Current company -David Edgerton and James

McLamore

Headquarters 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive,

Miami-Dade Co, Florida (near Miami)

Area served Global

Key people John W. Chidsey (CEO/Chairman)

Ben K. Wells (CFO)

Products Fast Food

(hamburgers • chicken • french fries • soft

drinks • milkshakes •salads • desserts • breakfast)

Revenue  US$2.54 Billion (FY 2009)[1]

Operating

income

 US$348 Million (FY 2009)[1]

Net income  US$200 Million (FY 2009)[1]

Total assets  US$2.71 Billion (FY 2009)[2]

Total equity  US$975 Million (FY 2009)[2]

Employees 41,000 (2008)[3]

Parent Burger King Holdings Inc.

Website burgerking.com

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International fast food chain Burger King has employed varied advertising programs, both successful and

unsuccessful, since its foundation in 1954. During the 1970s, output included a memorable jingle, the

inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well-known and parodied slogans such as Have it

your way and It takes two hands to hold a Whopper.[4][5] Starting in the early 1980s and running through

approximately 2002, BK engaged a series of ad agencies that produced many unsuccessful slogans and

programs, including its biggest advertising flop Where's Herb?.[6][7]

Beginning in 2003, BK began resuscitating its moribund advertising with the hiring of the Miami-based

advertising agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky (abbreviated as CP+B).[8][9]As one of CP+B new advertising

strategies, they revived the Burger King character used during BKs 1970s/1980s Burger King

Kingdom advertising campaign as a caricaturedvariation now simply called "the King". The farcical nature of the

Burger King centered advertisements inspired an internet meme where the King is photoshopped into unusual

situations that are either comical or menacing, many times followed with the phraseWhere is your God now?.

Additionally, CP+B created a series of viral web-based advertisements to compliment the various television and

print promotional campaigns on sites such as MySpace and various BK corporate pages.[10][11][12] These viral ad

campaigns, coupled with other new campaigns and a series of new product introductions, drew considerable

positive and negative attention to BK and helped TPG and its partners realize about $367 million in dividends.

[13][14][15]

Burger King was a pioneer in the advertising practice known as the product tie-in with a successful partnering

with George Lucas' Lucasfilm, Ltd. to promote the 1977 movie Star Wars. This promotion was one of the first in

the fast food industry and set the pattern that continues to the present. The company's most successful period

of tie-ins was the decade from 1990–2000 that saw a highly successful campaign with Disney's animated films,

including the Academy Award nominated Beauty & the Beast and Academy Award winning Toy Story, and a

partnership in association with the Pokémon franchise in 1999.[16][17]

Contents

 [hide]

1 History

2 Most recent campaigns

3 Logos

4 Non-product oriented advertising

5 Children's advertising

6 Promotional partners

7 See also

8 References

9 External links

[edit]History

[edit]United States

Beginning in 1973, Burger King ran a series of much-lampooned but successful and catchy television

commercials in which its employees would sing: "Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce. Special orders don't upset

us. All we ask is that you let us serve it your way!" This advertising strategy aimed to contrast Burger King's

flexibility with McDonald's famous rigidity. Many of the companies subsequent advertising campaigns have

reiterated this same theme.

One of Burger King's first major cross-promotional successes was in 1977 when they offered several

collectibles including posters, glasses and sticker sets that featured scenes and characters from Star Wars.

[18] The promotion was wildly successful, and the glasses are highly sought after to this day.[19][20] The

relationship with George Lucas' Lucasfilm, LTD. continued through the other two films in the first Star

Wars trilogy and continued through the final film and the DVD release of both trilogies.

In 1982, Burger King created an advertising stir when it created a set of commercials featuring a then-4-year-

old Sarah Michelle Gellar, in which Gellar stated that McDonald's burgers were 20% smaller than Burger

King's. Arguably the first attack ads on a food chain by a competitor, the campaign was controversial in that

prior to it, fast food ads only made allusions to the competition in a vague manner, never mentioning them by

name. McDonald's sued Burger King, the advertising agency that came up with the ads, and Gellar. The suit

was settled the following year on undisclosed terms.[21]

During the 1984 television premier of Star Wars, Burger King commercials are featured prominently, including

an advertisement about "When Burger King came to 9th Street". This advertisement shows African-American's

break dancing to many Burger King products, including one man who is spinning to form the shape of a

whopper.

In November 1985, Burger King spent $40 million on the "Where's Herb?" advertising campaign. The company

stated that Herb was the only man in America who had never eaten a Whopper. If a customer located him in

any store, he or she would win $5,000. Burger King purposely chose not to reveal what Herb looked like,

resulting in annoyance among its patrons. In a Super Bowl XX commercial, Burger King finally revealed Herb

as a bespectacled nerd in an ill-fitting suit. Herb toured stores across the country, appeared on The Today

Show, and served as a guest timekeeper during WrestleMania 2. The campaign had little impact on sales and

was quickly dropped. According to Advertising Age magazine, the Herb campaign was the "most elaborate

advertising flop of the decade."[6][22] Other 1980s ad campaigns such as "This is a Burger King town", "Fast food

for fast times", and "We do it like you'd do it" had little more success.

The iconic Burger King "crown", worn byNick Van Eede.

In the early 1990s, Burger King advertised introduced its new dinner offering, dinner baskets and table service,

with the "BK Tee Vee" (or "BKTV") ad campaign. The taglines for the campaign were "BK Tee Vee... I Love this

Place!" and "Your Way Right Away!", which featured Dan Cortese as "Dan: The Whopper Man." Burger King's

continued lack of a successful advertising campaign during the 1980s and 1990s, in contrast to McDonald's

usually memorable slogans and jingles, led to ridicule by the advertising community and the general public.

In September 2002, Burger King introduced its 99¢ Value Menu. The menu was in response to Wendy's 99¢

Value Menu and included a grilled sourdough burger, a bacon cheeseburger, french fries, onion rings, soft

drinks, three flavors of ice cream shakes; beef chili, two types of tacos; chicken tenders, baked potatoes and a

garden salad. The ads featured the comedian Adam Corolla as the voice of BK's drive thru. Since then many of

the items have been removed from the menu or have been made an optional menu item, and the menu has

become the BK Value Menu with prices starting at a dollar (US).[23]

[edit]Agencies

General Market:[4]

1958–68 - Hume, Smith and Mickelberry

1968–76 - BBDO [24] [25]

1976–87 - J. Walter Thompson [26]

1987–89 - N.W. Ayer

1988 - Einsom-Freeman and August, Bishop and Meier [27]

1989–94 - D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles (DMB&B), Saatchi & Saatchi [27]

1994–2001 - Lowe, Lintas & Partners - General Market and Kids Club[28]

2001–2002 - McCann-Erickson [29]

2002–2003 - AMOEBA, Inc.

September 2002 - Deutsch, Inc. for introduction of BK 99¢ Value Menu.[30]

2003–2004 - Young & Rubicam, Inc. [31]

2004–Present - Crispin Porter & Bogusky

African American market:[4]

1983–present - UniWorld Group, Inc.

Hispanic market:[4]

1989-2009 - Bromley Communications [32]

2009–present - LatinWorks [33]

Internet:[4]

2001 – June 2008: VML, Inc. [34]

July 2008 – present: Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Children's:[4]

1989–1994: Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising

1994–2001: Lowe, Lintas & Partners

2001–2010: Campbell Mithun

Present: Pitch, Inc.

[edit]Most recent campaigns

Shortly after the acquisition of Burger King by TPG Capital, L.P. in 2002, its newly hired CEO, former Darden

Restaurants executive Bradley (Brad) Blum, set about turning around fortunes of the company by initiating an

overhaul its flailing advertising programs. One of the first moves by the company was to reinstate its

famous Have it your way slogan as the corporate motto. BK handed the effort off to its new advertising agency,

Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky (abbreviated as CP+B). CP+B was known for having a hip, subversive

tack when creating campaigns for its clients, exactly what BK was looking for.[8][35]

CP+B set about revamping BK's image with a complete top to bottom overhaul of how the company marketed

itself to the public. Everything from the cups and bags to the company logo was completely redesigned with the

intent to give BK a hip, culturally aware image that would appeal to modern sensibilities. Humorous statements,

claims and product descriptions were placed on bags, product packaging and on in-store promotional

materials, including a Burger King Bill of Rights that gave its customers the right to Have it Your Way. It also set

about creating an advertising campaign that not only focused on television spots, but also print, web and

product tie-ins.[8][36]

One of it major strategies was to revive the Burger King character used during BKs 1970s/1980s Burger King

Kingdom advertising campaign. The new character was redesigned as a caricatured variation now simply

called the Burger King or just the King. The new incarnation replaced the singing and dancing Magical Burger

King with a non-speaking mime-like actor wearing an over-sized, grinning plastic mask resembling the original

actor who played King. Employing the practice of viral marketing, CP+B's ads generated significant word of

mouth and for its new use of what has been became known as the Creepy King persona, an appellation that

CP+B adopted for use in newer ads.[8]

In April 2009, a CP+B advertisement for Burger King's "Texican burger" was pulled from the air after causing

an international uproar over insults to Mexico.[37][38]

[edit]The King

Main article: The Burger King

The humor of the "Creepy King" is derived from the fact that he is a medieval king with a disproportionately

large plastic head whose smiling facial expression never changes and who turns up unexpectedly and in

unusual or anachronistic locations. The "Creepy King" was first used to advertise the chain's breakfast

sandwiches. The King presented a breakfast product to unsuspecting consumers in unexpected places such as

their own bedroom or in their front yards. The new breakfast slogan "Wake up with the King" also began

showing up in these ads. The farcical nature of the Burger King centered advertisements inspired an internet

meme where the King is photoshopped into unusual situations that are either comical or menacing, many times

followed with the phrase Where is your God now?.[39]

[edit]Other promotions

Additionally, CP+B created a series of web-based advertisements to compliment the various television and

print promotional campaigns on sites such as MySpace and various BK corporate pages. These viral

campaigns coupled several other new advertisement campaigns drew considerable positive and negative

attention to BK.

The Subservient Chicken

Main article: The Subservient Chicken

This ad program was used in 2004 to introduce the TenderCrisp sandwich. The first appearance of the

Subservient Chicken character was in a commercial called the Subservient Chicken Vest. The

commercial was the first in a series of ads for the sandwich utilizing a line of viral marketing

promotions by Crispin Porter + Bogusky for Burger King. In the ad, a man is sitting in his living room

directing a person in a chicken suit to behave in any way he wants. The tag line was "Chicken the way

you like it." After the success of the Subservient Chicken, Burger King used the character in several

subsequent advertising campaigns. Other versions of the character appeared for various other

promotions of new and limited time versions of the product.

Coq Roq

Main article: Coq Roq

In the summer of 2005, Burger King introduced BK Chicken Fries to its menu. The advertising

campaign featured a faux metal band named Coq Roq in a commercial called Bob Your Head,

members of whom wore chicken masks parodying the style of masks of nu metal band Slipknot. The

website included music videos, downloadable cellular ring tones, and a store selling band

merchandise. In addition, there is a MySpace page for the "band" that features bios, pictures, and their

songs.[40] While successful, the campaign drew scorn for sexual double entendres and a lawsuit from

Slipknot in regards to the promotion alleged copying of Slipknot's "look and feel".[41][42]

Sith Sense

Sithsense.com was an interactive website that tied in with the Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the

Sith advertising program. The site featured an interactive video of Darth Vader utilizing a 20

Questions-style answering program which operated in way similar to the Subservient Chicken website.

[43]

Dr. Angus

Dr. Angus was a CP+B creation launched in 2004 to promote the new Angus line of Sandwiches.

Played by British comedian Harry Enfield, he is a smarmy self-help "doctor" with gleaming white teeth

and a starched toupee who encourages eaters to "sit down" and enjoy the BK's large Angus burgers.

In 2006, the character was again used to advertise BK's new Cheesy Bacon Angus

and TenderCrispsandwiches.[44]

In addition, CP+B added a viral marketing web page The Angus Diet. Designed to work with the larger

Angus campaign, this site featured the such things as the Angus diet testimonials, a faux diet book

and Angus interventions. The "interventions" could be sent to people via e-mail by filling out several

fields on the page. As CP+B stated: "They were a way of getting people to spread the idea of the basis

of the Angus Diet - just enjoy life. Do whatever you want. Eat whatever you want as long as it makes

you happy."[45]

Manthem

In May 2006, in promotion of the Texas Double Whopper, Burger King released a campaign called the

"Manthem" which parodies Helen Reddy's I Am Woman. It depicts a man and his girlfriend at a fancy

restaurant. Disappointed by the meager portions he is served, the man bursts into song, expressing

his desire for a Texas Double Whopper, in place of what he deems "chick food." As he walks out of the

restaurant, he is joined by a chorus of men who rebel by not only eating Texas Double Whoppers, but

also go commando, lift a minivanover the side of an overpass, and unfurl a banner which says "Eat

This Meat." This has been the source of some controversy, as the commercial has been described as

demeaning to male vegetarians/vegans, as well as misogynistic toward women.[46][47] This ad was

reused in January 2007 when the sandwich was reintroduced and in Germany for a sandwich in the

company's BK XXL line, and in January 2008 in Great Britain for the Double Whopper.

Ugoff

Main article: Ugoff

Ugoff was a character in a 2004 ad campaign for Burger King directed by Roman Coppola. He was

used to promote the new "Fire-Grilled Salads" and the paper "Salad Pouch" which was used to keep

the chicken and shrimp warm for the salad entrées. Ugoff was designed a stereotypical male fashion

designer with an indeterminate middle-European accent and haughty personality.

Earl, Employee of the Month

In Summer 2006, Burger King launched a commercial stating that its broilers, named 'Earl' on the

commercials, won the most valuable employee award. With the Earl logo stamped on the side of the

broiler on the commercial, it seems that this name was made up and that their broilers are actually

made by Nieco and not named Earl.[48]

[edit]Other media

Movie Deal

In October 2006, it was announce that BK and CP+B were soliciting a movie deal for a film

called Above the King the film is reported to be a comedy about a teen misfit who lives in an apartment

above a Burger King restaurant and has an unlikely friendship with an aristocrat.[49]

Advergames

In November 2006, Burger Kings began selling three advergaming titles for the Xbox and Xbox

360 (entitled Sneak King, Pocketbike Racer and Big Bumpin') for an additional $3.99 each with any

value meal. By the end of December, 2006, The games had sold more than 2 million copies, placing

them as one of the top selling games along with another Xbox 360 hit, Gears of War.[50]

[edit]Logos

[edit]Evolution of the company logo

Original

Burger King

text logo from

1953Vintage Burger

King "sitting

king" logo

(1957–1969)

Alternate

version of

theSitting

King logo

used until

1969

Original "bun

halves" logo

(May 1, 1969-

April 30,

1994)

Revised "bun

halves" logo

(May 1, 1994–

June 30, 1999)

Current

"blue crescent"

logo (July 1,

1999–present)

The first logo that Burger King used was a simple text

version which was introduced July 28, 1953.[51] It was

expanded upon by the addition of the first graphical

representation of the Burger King character in the

1960s and can be described as the Sitting King logo,

as the Burger King character is shown sitting atop the

sign holding a beverage.[52] The sign has several

versions, with the King either sitting atop a hamburger

or on an inverted trapezoid with the company name

along the top and its motto Home of the

Whopper below it; some signs did not include the

King and only had the inverted trapezoid. This logo

was used in one form or another until May 1, 1969

when the famous Burger King "bun halves" logo made

its debut,[53] and has continued in one form or another

until the current day. As implied by its name, the logo

is meant to resemble a hamburger;[54] the logo had

two orange semi-circular "buns" surrounding the

name, which was the "meat" of the logo. On May 1,

1994 BK updated the logo with a graphical tightening,

replacing the aging "bulging" font with a smoother font

with rounded edges.[55] In addition, all secondary

signing, such as roof and directional signs, was also

updated with new rounded font.

The current BK "blue crescent" logo made its official

debut on July 1, 1999.[56] The new Burger King logo is

a stylized version of the original "bun halves" logo. BK

changed the color of the restaurant's name from red

to burgundy, while leaving them sandwiched between

two yellow bun halves. The new logo also tilts the bun

halves and the font on an axis, has a smaller "bun"

motif and wraps the burger with a blue crescent,

giving it a more circular appearance. Most restaurants

did not acquire newer signs with the new logo,

menus, and drive-thru ordering speakers until 2001.

Again all secondary signage was updated with the

new logo and sharp type face, and all sign posts were

repainted to match the blue coloring of the new

crescent from their original black.[57]

[edit]International variations

Hungry Jack's

revised and current

"bun halves" logo

Current logo

in Arabic. The logo

is read from right to

left.

Cyrillic Burger

King logo.

The Hungry Jack's logo is based on the Burger King

"bun halves" design. HJ currently uses a variation of

the second generation "bun halves" logo, featuring

the smoother font used in the Burger King logo from

1994. In Arabic speaking countries the logo is

mirrored and uses characters from the Arabic

alphabet ( كينغ otherwise the logo is identical to ;(برغر

the "blue crescent" logo used in the west. With the

expansion of the company inside Russia with its first

store in Moscow, Burger King added another version

of its logo that used non-Latin text, now in the Cyrillic

alphabet (Бургер Кинг).[58]

[edit]Children's

To establish a brand identity for its youth oriented

products, Burger King created a separate logo for its

children's products with the introduction of its Burger

King Kid's Club in 1990. The original logo, an inverted

triangle with a blue "sign", was part of the new kid's

program and was used in television and print

advertising; signage; and toy and meal packaging.

Through the life of the program they changed the logo

several times and introduced several local versions in

its international market. In 1996, the company

replaced the original logo with one that resembled its

corporate logo, the "bun halves" logo. The new logo

featured the original Burger King text logo on a single

line with the kids' club text under it on two lines.[59]

The most current logo in North America is for its Club

BK program which was phased in during July 2008.

[60] In the countries where the BK Kid's Club is still an

active promotion, BK and its franchises still use the

"blue crescent" iteration that was introduced at the

time the company modified its logo to the current

corporate logo.

Evolution of the logos used for the children's

advertising programs in the US and abroad.

Kids' Club logo The second

generation Kids'

Kids' Club Logo, Big Kids' Club

used w/ The

Burger King Kids

Club Gang

(January 1990-

September 1992)

[59]

Club Logo

(October 1992-

2001)[59]

currently used in

the Middle

East (current)

variant logo

(2001-2005)

Kids' Club logo

used

in Spain(current)

[edit]Non-product oriented advertising

Over the years BK has introduced advertising that

emphasized value or hours of operation. The first of

these was in 1983 when BK began encouraging its

stores to keep their drive thru open past midnight. At

the time most QSR locations closed around 10 or 11

p.m. In the summer of 2007, BK again began

advertising later hours in response to similar late night

programs from Wendy's and McDonald's.[61]

In 1989 Burger King restaurants introduced "King

Deals", daily specials that were offered for 99¢ with

the slogan At Burger King, you not only get change,

you get change. The schedule was Sunday –

Whopper Junior, Monday – Big King, Tuesday –

Chicken Sandwich, Wednesday – Whopper,

Thursday – Bacon Cheeseburger, Friday – Fish

Sandwich, and Saturday – Double Cheeseburger.

In October 2006, Burger King rolled out a new design

for both their drive-thru and dining room menu boards,

expanding their Value meal selections to 12 items,

from the previous 10.

[edit]Children's advertising

[edit]United States

Starting in the 1970s and running into the 1980s, BK

had a generic Kids' Club that gave children coupons

for selected products each month, a small toy that

rotated on a monthly or weekly basis, and an extra

surprise if it was the child's birthday. Burger King has

been known for its longtime giveaway of free paper

crowns, which are sometimes redesigned to match

any promotions the restaurant may be running.

[edit]The animated cartoons

The original advertising featured a small, animated

King. The King would travel around on a

modified chopper with a throne as the seat and visit a

BK and present the children with small gifts. The tag

line was "Burger King: Where kids are King!"

[edit]The "Marvelous Magical Burger

King"

The original animated King was soon replaced by the

"Marvelous Magical Burger King," a red-bearded king,

acted out by actor-singer Richard "Dick" Gjonola, who

ruled the Burger King Kingdom and performed magic

tricks (mostly sleight-of-hand, but sometimes relying

on camera tricks). This campaign paralleled

McDonald's McDonaldland children's commercials,

which featured "Ronald McDonald," "The

Hamburglar," and "Mayor McCheese," along with

other characters and mascots.

Other characters in the Burger King Kingdom

included:

"The Duke of Doubt," the King's arch nemesis,

who constantly tried to prove that the King's

magic was not real; he always failed, and each

commercial that featured him ended with the tag-

line, "No doubt about it, Duke."

The "Burger Thing," a large, three-dimensional

painting of a hamburger that talked.

"Sir Shake-A-Lot," a knight, whose name was

drawn from the fact that he was often literally

physically shaking, with a craving for Burger King

milkshakes and armor made of BK Cups. (Sir

Shake-A-Lot's name was a take-off on Sir

Lancelot, and his constant shaking was

sometimes misinterpreted as being a symptom

of hypoglycemia from the sugar content of Burger

King milkshakes.)[citation needed]

The "Wizard of Fries," a robot who could

"multifry," or generated French fries whenever

given a sample.

[edit]Kids's meal offerings

Originally, BK would only offer a kids' meal when it

had a cross promotion with a children's orientated

product such as a film or a holiday. With the success

of McDonald's Happy Meal in the late 1970s, BK

introduced its own permanent kids meal, called the

Kids' Meal Pack, in 1985 with a He-Man cross

promotion. In June 1999 BK introduced the Big Kids'

Meal aimed at the preteen market with larger portions,

which forced McDonald's to introduce its Mighty Kids

Meal.

The original packaging for the Kids' Meal Pack was

similar to McDonald's Happy Meal, a paperboard box

with colorful graphics featuring games and BK

characters or promotional images from product tie-ins.

With the introduction of the Burger King Kids

Club, the packaging was changed to a less

expensive, multi-compartment white paper bag that

had a cellophane window that displayed the toy

prominently on the front of the bag and had the food

in the second, larger compartment. When the Big

Kids' meal was introduced, BK changed its regular

Kids' meal packaging to smaller, standard single

compartment bag with the Burger King Kids Club

Gang in the graphics and they added a second, larger

brown paper bag with graphics targeting at the

preteen market for the Big Kids Meal. Eventually both

bags were replaced with a single white paper bag the

same size as the Big Kids' meal packaging with the

preteen oriented graphics.

[edit]Kids Club

The Burger King Kids Club Gang

In 1989, Burger King re-launched its kids' meal

program as the Burger King Kids Club meal across

the United States and in New Zealand. The Burger

King Kids Club Gang, a group ofmulti-ethnic fictional

characters, were created to promote the Burger King

Kids Club meal by providing a group of stylized

characters that most kids could associate with, e.g.

the brain, the artist, etc.

The members of the gang were:

Kid Vid, a Caucasian male who loved video

games and technology; he was the leader of the

group.

Boomer, a sports loving Caucasian tomboy with

red hair.

I.Q., a male Caucasian nerd who wore

red glasses, a green lab coat, and a pocket

protector.

Jaws, a tall African-American male with an

insatiable appetite.

J.D., a dog and the group's mascot.

Lingo, a multi-lingual, Hispanic male who liked art

and carried an easel.

Snaps, a blonde Caucasian female who always

carried her camera.

Wheels, a Caucasian paraplegic male in

a wheelchair.

Jazz

In the early 2000s a new female character was added

to the group:

Jazz, an Asian girl who loved music and sported

a beret.

Each of the characters' signatures reflected their

personality, e.g. Boomer signed her name with

a football andbaseball for the "O"s.

Furthermore, Burger King created a "Kids Club" in

which club members receive an annual mailing in the

month of their birthday that contains games, product

information, and a birthday gift in the form of a coupon

for a free Kids' Meal. Even though the BK Kids' Club

Gang has been discontinued in the US, the club itself

continues in operation to this day and is the largest

club of its kind in North America. Additionally, they

can still be seen on some playground signs and

decorations in some locations.[62] The club has been

closed in New Zealand.

The Burger King Kids Club had a logo that was used

from 1994–2001. The logo was a variation in the

classic "Bun Halves" logo that BK introduced in 1969

and revised in 1994. It used the two "bun halves" like

the main BK logo but the Burger King name was on

one line under the top half of the bun, while the

words Kids Club were on two lines below the BK

name in a larger, different style font.

The Burger King stores in the Middle East are still

using the BK Kid's Club Gang for its children's

advertising, though IQ and Jazz are absent.[63]

[edit]Honbatz

The Honbatz characters

In 2005, the Kids Club Gang was replaced by the

Honbatz, odd creatures who were designed to replace

its 15-year-old Kids Club gang with a more modern

group of characters that would appeal to

the preteen market.[64] Each Honbatz has a

personality that you would find in modern elementary

school: the class clown, the brain or the rebellious

one.

The new group consisted of:

Mixmax, a punk who likes showing off;

Thisorthat, a green monster that likes to eat

everything but cannot decide where to start;

Bonny, the studious one and the only girl in the

group;

Chomp, an intimidating, large Honbatz, who is

really a big softie that wants to fit in;

the Eeeps, a group of small, red, ketchup-craving

creatures.

They have appeared in numerous ads, and are still

used in some European markets and New Zealand.

[edit]Return of the King

An updated version of the original Burger King.

In September 2006, BK began using the original

animated King design from the 1970s on its cups,

bags and in nontie-in kids advertising. The new (old)

King is portrayed as a sarcastic type who sometimes

gets in trouble for his mischief making adventures.

[edit]Restrictions on children's advertising

On 12 September 2007, Burger King announced that

it was joining the The Council of Better Business

BureausChildren's Food and Beverage Advertising

Initiative. The program, a voluntary self-regulation

program designed to shift advertising messages

aimed at children so that they encourage healthier

eating habits and lifestyles.[65] As part of this new

initiative, BKC has stated that it will restrict advertising

to children under 12 that uses third-party licensed

characters to Kids Meals that meet its Nutrition

Guidelines, refrain from advertising in elementary

schools and from product placement in media

primarily aimed at children under 12, promote Kids

Meals that meet its Nutrition Guidelines as set forth

on its web site and promote healthy lifestyles and

healthy dietary choices in its advertising.[66][67] In

response several groups, including the CSPI, lauded

the move as guarded good news.[68]

[edit]Australia

Hungry Jack's Kids Club mascots are unique to the

Australian franchisee, as opposed to other

international locations that use one the two existing

kid's mascots, the Burger King Kids' Club or the

Honbatz.

[edit]Europe

In Europe, the Kids Meal bag features two

youngsters, a boy and a girl, on the packaging and

advertisements. The names of the characters are not

given.

In Sweden Burger Kings main slogan is "Grillat är

godast, bara på Burger King" which translates to

"Grilled is tastier, only at Burger King".

[edit]Promotional partners

[edit]Cross promotions

AOL [69]

DirecTV [70]

Konami [71]

Major League Baseball Players Association [72]

Maxim Magazine  Hometown Hotties[73]

A Flash based section on the US Burger King website that allows visitors to engage in a "conversation"

with some of the pin-up girls from Maxim's Hometown Hotties models as well as drivers from Waltrip

Racing. It operates in a manner similar to the CP+B Sith Sense site.

MTV  cross promo

In December 2005, Burger King teamed with MTV for a "Have It Your Way" rap contest. Burger King

and MTV selected Anthony DeSean Stokes out of 400 entries to star in a commercial. Part of his

winning rap was "You can have it your way, there's nothin' to it / If you can dream it, you can do it!"

The commercial ran for a short time, exclusively on MTV.

NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt [74]

Joe Nemechek 's 87 Chevrolet in

the mid-1990s

Michael Waltrip Racing  BK co-

sponsored the 00 Toyota driven

by David

Reutimann with Domino's Pizza in

2007, and Bill Elliott(part time) in

2006.[75]

Tony Stewart  (2009-)

Formula One

Sauber  (minimal sponsorship that

began at the 2010 European

Grand Prix)

NFL [76]

Jacksonville Jaguars [77]

Nintendo [78]

Microsoft  Windows 7 and Xbox [79] [80] [81]

[edit]Celebrity spokespersons

BK has been known to hire celebrities to

pitch their products in ads. One of it most

famous CSP issues was with the then

unknown Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ms.

Gellar, in 1981 at the age of four,

appeared in a series of commercials that

disparaged the size McDonald's

hamburgers, claiming them to be 20%

smaller than BK burgers. These

commercials, some of the first to mention

a fast food competitor in a TV ad, angered

the McDonald's Corporation executives

who in turn sued BK, their ad agency at

the time the J. Walter Thompson

Company and Ms. Gellar. The laws suit

was eventually settled in 1982 for an

undisclosed sum.[21]

A 2005–2006 viral ad campaign by CP+B

had model\actress Brooke Burke and The

King going through a mock celebrity

courtship. The campaign had

fake paparazzi photos and videos show up

in gossip columns and celebrity gossip

web sites across the internet.[82] The

courtship followed their meeting on the set

of the Whopperettes ad, dating, risqué

shots of them at the beach with her

topless (no nudity), an engagement and

summary break up.[83] She also appears as

a playable character and cover girl in

the Xbox 360 games PocketBike

Racerand Big Bumpin'.[84]

In 2009, CP+B and Cow PR launched the

Burger King Flame fragrance in the UK,

which featured Piers Morgan fronting both

a poster campaign and viral video.[85]

[edit]Media Tie-ins

See also: List of Burger King ad programs

Burger King's first major tie-in, and one of

the first tie-ins for the QSR industry, was

with the 1977 film Star Wars (later

renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New

Hope) in which BK sold a set of glasses

featuring the main characters from the

film. From that point on a competition

between the major QSR chains became

one of the cornerstones of advertising in

the fast food industry. BK's early success

was overshadowed by the joint venture

between McDonald's and Disney in the

1980s and early 1990s. In 1994 Burger

King reversed the situation with its own

ten film contract with Disney, a venture

that led to great success as this period in

Disney films was considered to be

Disney's second Golden Age. BK was able

to promote such top ten films such

as Aladdin (1992), Beauty and the

Beast (1991), The Lion King (1994)

and Toy Story (1995).[16] These cross

promotions were some of the most

successful in the industry, rivaled only by

McDonald's\Ty Beanie Babies cross-

promotion in 1999–2000.

The King in a Simpsons/Burger King

commercial.

Burger King continued it successful

partnership with Lucasfilm LTD. for the

other two films in the original Star

Wars trilogy, The Empire Strikes

Back (1980) and Return of the

Jedi (1984), as well as the last film of the

second trilogy, Revenge of the

Sith (2005). BK lost the first run tie-in

rights to the first two movies of the second

trilogy, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom

Menace (1999) and Star Wars Episode II:

Attack of the Clones (2002), to Yum!

Brands (KFC, Taco Bell et al.) but had an

extensive tie-in with the DVD release of

the two trilogies in 2006. In 2008, Burger

King joined with Lucasfilm and Amblin

Entertainment for the release of the

fourth Indiana Jones film,Indiana Jones

and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.[86]

Another long running Burger King tie-in

partnership has been with 20th Century

Fox's property The Simpsons. BK first

promotion with Fox began in 1990, when

the show became a series after three

years as a short segment on The Tracy

Ullman Show, and was a set of 8-to-12-

inch (20 to 30 cm) dolls featuring each

member of the Simpsons family. Other

Simpsons/BK promotions included a

British Kid's Club toy in 1998, 2000 and

2001; a Halloween themed Kid's Club toy

in 2001 and 2002; A summertime special

at Hungry Jack's in 2001 and The

Simpsons Movie in 2007.[87] As part of the

Promotion for the Simpsons Movie, CP+B

produced a commercial with a Simpsons

version of the King with yellow skin,

overbite and four fingers as well as a web

site that allowed people to make a

"Simpsonized" version of themselves from

uploaded pictures.[88]

[edit]See also

Florida portal

Companies portal

Food portal

Drink portal

Book:Burger King

Books are collections of articles that can be

downloaded or ordered in print.

Fast food advertising

Burger King Kingdom

McDonald's advertising

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Andrews McMeel

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Most often seen associated with

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[edit]External links

The Subservient Chicken website

The Whopperettes Homepage

BK Masks site

Official Honbatz website

New Official BK Kids (US) website

Crispin, Porter + Bogusky's

homepage

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