McDonald’s to Burger King: Get Off My Tail!
By Manyasiri (Pear) Chotbuwong
You may have heard the saying, “Get off my tail,” a phrase that means ‘stop bothering me’ or ‘stop following me closely’. Over the course of history, despite many business rivalries following each other’s tail closely, two industry giants stand out in being the perfect personification of the idiom. For almost forty years, two leading fast food chains have been battling each other for its rightful place in consumers’ hearts. In this business deep dive, we will be looking at some of McDonald’s and Burger King’s many creative (and sneaky too!) feats to override each other in selling their Big Macs and Whoppers. Which one would you choose?
Fast-Growing Novice vs. Declining Giant
McDonald’s was founded in 1940 while Burger King was founded in 1953. Even though Burger King began its business 13 years later than its competitor, the fast food restaurant quickly expanded hugely due to its delicious menu selections that were tastier than their McDonald’s equivalents. As a result, McDonald’s market share gradually decreased, getting displaced by the rookie chain whose popularity was on the rise.
The Unsuccessful McDLT
How did McDonald’s respond to this crisis? To compete with Burger King, McDonald’s launched a new menu: McDLT. The McDLT is a deconstructed burger that separates the meat from the vegetables. The consumer response was negative, which gave Burger King the opportunity to attack McDonald’s poor attempt at marketing. Burger King launched an ad campaign, sending the message that ‘At Burger King, we understand people who want to eat real burgers’. This is only the beginning of Burger King’s relentless effort in stealing McDonald’s number one spot through marketing manipulation.
Courtesy of / lifeinpleasantville.com
McDonald’s McDLT Ad Campaign Poster to compete with Burger King’s Whopper.
Burger King’s Marketing Strategy
Due to the fact that Burger King had a lesser number of franchises than McDonald’s, their ultimate strategy was to provide consumers with higher quality meals in larger quantities. They market their foods as higher quality by showing the way they grill their meats over real fire, making it juicier and tastier than McDonald’s. In addition, when McDonald’s launched their mascot Ronald McDonald, Burger King responded with an advertisement featuring a clown (implying Ronald) sneaking over to buy burgers at Burger King after he finished work at McDonald’s.
Courtesy of / thedrum.com
McDonald’s Strike Back
McDonald’s responded with a large billboard in France, playing to McDonald’s advantage in its number of franchises. The sign shows that the closest McDonald’s branch is much closer (5 km. away) than the closest Burger King (258 km away) branch. Burger King responded with a video advertisement featuring a couple who saw this sign, drove to McDonald’s to buy a large coffee, claiming that it was for the long journey they were willing to take to Burger King.
Burger King’s Ultimate Whopper Campaign
Perhaps the most superlative ad campaign by Burger King was the one marketing how customers can buy Whopper at one cent if they are at a McDonald’s restaurant and ordering through Burger King’s application. This campaign caused many people to drive to McDonald’s only to receive the one-cent Whopper coupon, then drive to Burger King.
Courtesy of / masterad.com
Burger King’s One-Cent Whopper Billboard Campaign if ordered at McDonald’s
Burger King and McDonald’s rivalry has been clearly illustrated in the companies’ marketing. To what extent are you influenced by each company’s ad? Which fast food chain do you prefer, and why? No matter what restaurant is your favorite, one economic principle is absolute: the companies’ competition is beneficial to consumers.
References
—Editor-in-Chief Manyasiri (Pear) Chotbunwong can be reached at manyasiric23@rism.ac.th. Follow her on instagram @peary.chot.
