Throughout history there have been gigantic business rivalries between competing titans of industry. Coke vs. Pepsi, Samsung vs. Apple, Ford vs GM, Budweiser vs. Miller, UPS vs. FedEx, BMW vs. Mercedes Benz, Oreo vs. Hydrox. Okay that last one was a stretch. However the biggest of the last half century may be McDonald’s vs. Burger King.
The two burger behemoths have battled for fast food supremacy, customer loyalty, territories and franchisees. The beginning of this competition can be traced back to 1957, when Burger King realized that they couldn’t compete with McDonald’s 15 cent burger so they introduced the Whopper, a larger burger that sold for 37 cents. McDonald’s finally responded in 1968, by launching the Big Mac.
Shots were fired by Burger King in 1982 by launching an advertising campaign that claimed customers preferred the Whopper over McDonald’s and Wendy’s. Both chains countered by suing for false and misleading advertising.
Then in 1997, Burger King besieged McDonald’s with attack ads that boasted “the taste that beats McDonald’s.” To which McDonald’s answered back with its own advertising campaign.
However on Wednesday, a deep-fried olive branch was extended from the Home of the Whopper to the Golden Arches. Burger King ran full-page ads in The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune, which is the hometown paper of the Illinois-based McDonald’s, suggesting a bonkers idea in the name of peace.
They are proposing the appetizing amalgamation of combing the two fast-food chain’s signature burgers to create the “McWhopper.”
Cue the mass hysteria.
Burger King even made a website where they explain the hybrid of the Big Mac and Whopper would contain six ingredients from the Big Mac and six from the Whopper. I think you only need four from each company, including Mickey D’s sesame seed bun, special sauce, Burger King’s flame-grilled beef patty, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, sliced white onions and melty American cheese.
Then this mongrel sandwich will be sold for one day in one pop-up store in one city. Burger King is suggesting that the lucky city would be Atlanta, which would be a meeting point in between McDonald’s Oak Brook, Illinois headquarters and Burger King’s HQ’s. This mega burger would be sold on Sept. 21, with proceeds benefiting the anti-conflict nonprofit Peace One Day.
This golden opportunity to squash the beef between the two burger joints doesn’t seem to thrill McDonald’s though. McDonald’s CEO Steve, responded on the company’s Facebook page on Wednesday morning:
Dear Burger King, Inspiration for a good cause… great idea. We love the intention but think our two brands could…
Posted by McDonald’s on Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Then McDonald’s posted this on their Twitter:
Inspiration for a good cause @burgerking. Let’s do something to make a real difference. http://t.co/JjycHwwD5B
— McDonald's (@McDonaldsCorp) August 26, 2015
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Sorry, there’s just no hope for the Middle East if we can’t get the McWhopper made.
[TIME]