Burger King to Ditch Creepy King

by NowPublic Staff | August 19, 2011 at 07:01 am

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BK: The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Burger King is ditching its main mascot, The King. You know, the plastic-faced guy who was even more terrifying than Ronald McDonald.

Burger King (A UK burger chain) is rolling out a product called the California Whopper, and its ad campaign will only feature the sights and sounds of fresh ingredients being chopped. Uh, okay. Guacamole does not lend itself to a fast-food environment.

Leaving aside the seismic gap between fast-food advertisement and fast-food reality, let's take a moment to give thanks to the whimsical and powerful forces of advertising, which have deigned to dethrone the scary, scary King.

Nobody makes a change like this for fun, though: Burger King's sales have been down 6%, while Mickey D's have been up 3%.... and McDonald's has a freaky clown. If that's not a clear message, then we just don't know what is.

"People want a reason to go back to Burger King," says Alex Macedo, senior marketing vice president. By spending the next year fixing the food, modernizing stores and updating its image, the No. 2 burger chain will convince folks it's time to return, he says. "There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon," he adds.

The King was created by creative firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky, who were going for "edgy" and ended up with "serial killer".