King vs Clown
In the early 2000s, fast food giant Burger King ran a series of ads and marketing campaigns aimed at its main competitor, McDonald’s. The ads were highly effective, and Burger King was able to steal a significant amount of market share from McDonald’s during this time.
The most famous of these campaigns was the “Subservient Chicken” campaign, which featured a man in a chicken suit who would do whatever the viewer told him to do via a text message. The campaign was a huge success, and the Subservient Chicken became an iconic figure. Burger King also ran other successful campaigns against McDonald’s, including the “Whopper Virgins” campaign, in which Burger King customers were asked to try the Whopper for the first time and give their honest opinion.
The results were overwhelmingly positive, and Burger King was able to use them in its marketing. The campaigns were so effective that McDonald’s was forced to respond. It did so with its own series of ads and marketing campaigns that highlighted the differences between the two brands. McDonald’s also began to focus more on its own strengths, such as its history and its global reach.
While Burger King was eventually able to regain some of the market share it lost to McDonald’s, the damage had been done. Burger King’s aggressive marketing had changed the perception of the brand, and it would never be seen in the same light as McDonald’s again.
