Burger King

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This article is about the fast food restaurant. For the restaurant in Mattoon, Illinois, see Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois). Template:Infobox Company$11 billion USD (2004) | 

 products       = Burgers and other fast food |
 homepage       = www.bk.com |

}} Image:Burger King Seoul South Korea.JPG Image:Burger King Menu.jpg Image:Burger King Whopper Combo.jpg

Burger King Corporation is a large international chain of fast food restaurants, predominantly selling hamburgers, french fries and soft drinks. It also operates over 200 restaurants in Australia under the name Hungry Jack's.

Contents

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Company history

Burger King's first restaurant—originally called Insta Burger King—was opened in 1954 in Miami, Florida, USA by James McLamore and David Edgerton, who were both alumni of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. McLamore had visited the hamburger stand belonging to Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California; being able to sense potential in their innovative assembly line-based production system, he decided to create a version of his own.

Ironically, the first restaurant's milkshake machine was sold to them by Ray Kroc, who later bought the McDonald's restaurant chain from its founders and oversaw its worldwide expansion.

In August of 1992 their corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida was severely damaged by Hurricane Andrew.

On Friday, December 13, 2002, Burger King was purchased from British drinks firm Diageo for $1.5 (US) billion by a group of investors led by the investment firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG). The company planned to go public within the next two years.

Magic Johnson's company Magic Johnson Enterprises purchased 30 Burger King stores on June 7, 2004. Although they will feature sports memorabilia, they will retain the Burger King name. These locations reopened on December 3, 2004.[1]

On August 1, 2004, Greg Brenneman took over from Brad Blum as Chairman and CEO to direct the company's turnaround efforts under TPG ownership.

On February 1, 2006, Brenneman announced TPG's plans to turn Burger King into a publicly traded company by issuing an Initial Public Offering. On February 16, the company announced it had filed its registration for the IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

On April 7, 2006, Burger King named John Chidsey as CEO to succeed Brenneman. Brian Swette was named non-executive Chairman.

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Facts and figures

Historically, Burger King has been the second largest burger chain in North America, behind McDonald's. However, Burger King's revenues and market share have declined in the early 2000s, and projections now have it falling to third-place behind Wendy's in US hamburger market share in the near future. Burger King has been closing underperforming stores and changing its marketing strategy in order to turn its fortunes around.

  • Burger King has more than 11,220 outlets in 61 countries and territories worldwide.
  • 75% of Burger King's outlets are located in the United States.
  • In fiscal year 2002, the firm had US $11.3 billion in total sales.
  • Around 58% of its business is drive-through, and 20% is take-out.
  • It has more than 340,000 employees and sells about 2.4 billion hamburgers a year.
  • Burger King restaurants serve approximately 1,040 customers per restaurant, per day, or approximately 11.4 million customers daily.
  • In 2003, Burger King was the 62nd largest advertiser in the United States spending $525 million.
  • The largest BK, seat-wise, is located in Fort Lewis, Washington.
  • The first BK opened in Miami, Florida on December 4, 1954.
  • Burger King served Pepsi products in their restaurants from 1983 to 1987.[2] They have since switched back to Coca-Cola products after their deal with Pepsi expired. They recently made a deal with PepsiCo to sell Aquafina bottled water at their restaurants. The only other soft drink that is not a Coca-Cola product that is sold at Burger King is Dr. Pepper.
  • Laid side by side, the number of WHOPPER® sandwiches sold annually would circle the globe five times.
  • Burger King buys 40 semi-truck loads of beef patties daily and 700 million pounds of fries every year.
  • Burger King is the world's second-largest fast-food restaurant chain, with over $11 billion annual sales

(Source: http://company.monster.com/bking/)

See also Burger King's Global Fact Sheet

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Products

  • Burger King's trademark product is a hamburger called the Whopper.
  • They also serve the Angus Burger, which is a larger, "better burger".
  • "Chicken tenders", another popular menu item, are small thin pieces of chicken breaded and lightly peppered. While normally served in long, slender shapes, Burger King occasionally offers the pieces in more kid-friendly shapes resembling stars, lightning bolts, and crowns. They are available in 4-, and 8-piece varieties. Chicken Tenders officially made their debut, alongside the Croissan'wich, and the Original Chicken Sandwich, in a menu revision/expansion in 1985.
  • In 1999, Burger King began offering in the U.S., a vegetarian meat selection on their menu named the BK Veggie. In late 2004, Burger King entered into a partnership with Morningstar Farms to offer a soy-based meatless patty.
  • Kids Meal/Big Kids Meals, The "Kids Meal" is offered directly to compete with the popular "Happy Meal" from McDonald's and the "Wendy's Kid's Meal" from Wendy's. Three varieties form the Kids' Meal base; a 4-piece Chicken Tenders, Hamburger, or Cheeseburger. A preteen version of the Kids Meal, called the "Big Kids Meal" and debuted in 1999, has a selection from a 6-piece Chicken Tenders meal, Double Hamburgers, or Double Cheeseburgers. Additionally, kid’s meals can come with either applesauce as a French fry substitute, or any other drink option instead of a soft drink. Little Tikes brand toddler toys are available on request instead of the regular toy offering.
  • Chicken Fries, a french-fry cut version of the Tendercrisp with slightly different breading, debuted in 2005 as a LTO (limited Time Offering) and quickly became a permanent "Numbered" value meal menu option.
  • The Big King, is Burger King's response to McDonald's Big Mac since it has a similar style and taste. The Big King was replaced in the U.S. by a similar product, the Supreme Cheeseburger, which was also later discontinued. The Big King, however, is still available in some European resturaunts.
  • Also in response to McDonald's McDeals, Burger King introduced the King Deals. The schedule is Sunday - Whopper Junior, Monday - Big King, Tuesday - Chicken Sandwich, Wednesday - Whopper, Thursday - Bacon Cheeseburger, Friday - Fish Sandwich, and Saturday - Double Cheeseburger.
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Advertising

In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Burger King used a mascot of the same name to advertise their meals. The "Burger King" was a bearded king, who ruled the Burger King Kingdom, along with other characters such as The Duke of Doubt (his arch nemesis), Burger Thing (a large burger puppet), Sir Shakes-A-Lot (a knight with a craving for Burger King milkshakes), and the Wizard of Fries (a robot powered by french fries).

In the early-1990s, they advertised BK dinner baskets and table service with an MTV-style approach under the name "BK Tee Vee" or "BKTV". The dinner baskets included the Whopper Dinner Basket, the Steak Sandwich Dinner Basket, The Fried chicken Dinner Basket, and the Shrimp Dinner Basket. Sides included a choice of a side salad, cole slaw, french fries or a baked potato. They also had popcorn. They abandoned the sit-down restaurant concept in 1994 in favor of the original quick service concept. The tagline for this ad campaign was "BK TEE-VEE... I Love this Place!" and "Your Way Right Away!".

The Burger King was brought back in late 2004, this time to advertise the chain's breakfast sandwiches. The character then had a commercial as part of the chain's promotion of the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The latest commercials feature the King on the field of several National Football League games (using archive footage from NFL Films), in a cross-promotion with the NFL and DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket sports subscription package (in the promotion, a code entered from the wrapper from an Angus burger sandwich could net several prizes, including free access to the Sunday Ticket package). (NFL Your Way promotion). In another ad, a man wakes up to find the king lying next to him in bed, suggesting a subtle homoerotic theme of the new campaign [3]. Another set of advertisements which premiered during Superbowl XL featured the King orchestrating a broadway-type show of "Whopperettes", women dressed as burger condiments and toppings.

The king's unique appearance may have spawned an internet phenomenon where he is seen as scary or evil, such as on sites like ytmnd. He is usually seen attacking other fast food mascots or replacing monsters of horror movies, usually accompanied by the phrase "Where is your god now?"

The Subservient Chicken is a viral marketing promotion by advertising agency Crispin Porter and Bogusky for Burger King, featuring a person (presumably) in a chicken costume, who does nearly whatever action he is told to. Despite appearances, it is not a live webcam.

Dr. Angus is another Crispin Porter and Bogusky creation launched in 2004. 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, his cheesy personality is used to advertise BK's new Cheesy Bacon Angus and Tendercrisp sandwiches.

Later in 2004, Burger King introduced the Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch. The sandwich was promoted by a nationwide advertising campaign featuring recording artist Darius Rucker (of Hootie and the Blowfish) singing a jingle to the tune of "Big Rock Candy Mountain."

In the summer of 2005, Burger King introduced Chicken Fries to its menu. The advertising campaign featured a metal band called Coq Roq, who wore chicken masks parodying the style of masks of nu metal band Slipknot. The website included music videos, downloadable cellular ringtones, and a store selling band merchandise.

Upon introduction of a kids meal to tie in with The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie in September 2004, pranksters repeatedly stole inflatable advertisements off several restaurant's roof tops [4] and sent the Burger King employees a ransom note demanding Krabby Patties. Similar promotions were done with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith with an inflatable Darth Vader and Shrek 2 with an inflatable Shrek.

In March of 2006, Burger King introduced the Big Buckin' Chicken commercial made by CPB Miami, advertising the tendercrisp cheesy bacon chicken sandwich. The tv ad shows 'old' 8mm footage of a cowboy riding a chicken in a rodeo while people on the sideline cheer on. The voice concludes that "the only way to beat it, is to eat it."

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Slogans

  • Are you hungry for Burger King now?
  • Have it your way. (This has been one of the longest running slogans of any company in the United States; BK has been using it since 1973)
  • When you have it your way, it just tastes better.
  • If you ask us, it just tastes better.
  • Your Way Right Away
  • Home of the Whopper (some Burger King locations still have this slogan beneath the Burger King sign on the rooftop on locations built in the 1960s and 1970s.)
  • The Fire's Ready
  • Fuel Your Fire
  • Get Your Burgers' Worth
  • BKFU
  • @ BK You Got It!
  • We do it like you'd do it!
  • We know how burgers should be.
  • The BEST Food for FAST Times.
  • It takes Two Hands to hold my Whopper
  • (In an ad featuring Mr. T) Mo Beef, Betta Taste.
  • Magic makes it Special when you're with Burger King.
  • BK Tee Vee: I love this place!
  • Aren't You Hungry?
  • Got the Urge? Come to Burger King
  • Burger King, where you're the boss!
  • In the land of burgers, Whopper is king.
  • Got the Urge?
  • Wake Up With the King
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Hungry Jack's Slogans

  • The Burgers are Better at Hungry Jack's
  • We're all about fresh at Hungry Jack's
  • Oh Yeah
  • Love it at Hungry Jacks
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Kids Club

Image:Burger King Kids Club Gang.jpg

Like other fast-food chains, Burger King has meals for children: the regular Kids Meal and the Big Kids Meal (introduced June 1999), which is aimed at "tweens" and teenagers and has more food. Both still offer the same food, just larger quantity. Burger King is also known for its longtime giveaway of free paper crowns to kids, Which have undergone many changes in design (Color, Shape, etc.). In 1990, Burger King launched the Burger King Kids Club across the United States, which continues in operation to this day, and represents the largest club of its kind in North America. 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.

The Burger King Kids Club Gang was a group of fictional characters created to promote the Burger King Kids Club meal. Their names were Boomer, I.Q., Jaws, J.D., Kid Vid, Lingo, Snaps, and Wheels.

The use of these characters has drawn criticism from parental advocacy groups, stating that the use of stereotypical static characters instill wrongful notions in children's minds. The groups concerns were with Lingo, so named for the fact that he is Hispanic; Wheels, named for his wheelchair; I.Q., a stereotypically smart male, wearing glasses and a pocket protector; and Kid Vid, thin, blonde male of average height, who is the obvious leader of the gang (and role model for children). Other concerns include the fact that one of the only two girls in the gang, Boomer, is clearly a tomboy. Some claim a ninth member of the BKKCG was added named "Jazz" but there is little evidence to back this up and may be an urban legend or non-sanctioned BKKCG member. The rumor of the character "Jazz" has been proven, as she appears on game machines used in various Burger King restaurants. She appears to be Asian and sports a beret.

In the 1970s, BK had a Kids Club that gave children coupons on selected products each month and an extra surprise if it was the child's birthday. In many areas to this day, children under the age of 12 can sign up to the BK Birthday Club, and receive a coupon for a free hamburger as well as a prize in the mail on their birthday.

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Hungry Jack's

Image:Hungry.Jack's.Logo.gif

When Burger King decided to expand their operations into Australia, they found that their business name was already trademarked by a man running a small takeaway food shop. Consequently, the first Australian franchise of the Burger King Corporation, established in Perth in 1971, was aptly titled Hungry Jack's, echoing the name and sentiment of the franchisee, Jack Cowin. Hungry Jack's sells the usual range of burgers, but also an Australian specialty, the Aussie Burger. This burger is based on the traditional Australian fish and chips shop favorite, including fried egg, bacon, onion, and beetroot with the traditional meat, lettuce, and tomato.

When the existing Australian trademark for Burger King lapsed, the American parent company wanted Cowin to change the Hungry Jack's outlets to the Burger King name. Cowin resisted the change, preferring to keep the Hungry Jack's name. The disagreement ended in a court case. In 2001, Hungry Jack's won the court case, and Burger King was ordered to pay $75 million to Hungry Jack's for breach of its franchise agreement.

Image:Hungry.Jack's.Slogan.gif

From 1999-2001, Burger King opened several outlets in Australia under the Burger King name. These built on their existing stores in international airports - the international territory apparently outside the Cowin licensing deal. Hungry Jack's have to follow any menu changes made by Burger King. Hungry Jack's introduced a breakfast menu in late 2005 to follow Burger King.

In some cases the new Burger King outlets were located very close to existing Hungry Jack's outlets. Cowin negotiated with Burger King to buy these outlets, renaming them in the process.

In 1986, Hungry Jack's purchased 11 ailing Australian Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers locations and rebranded them to the Hungry Jack's name.

Even in the United States, Burger King found smaller operations had previously been using the name. One such restaurant in Mattoon, Illinois negotiated a settlement that forbids the chain from opening locations within 20 miles. See Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois).

Hungry Jack's has seen success with their Kids Club mascots, allowing children to have birthday parties at their restaurants based on different themes, and also with their Kids Club Meals (similar to McDonald's Happy Meal), see Burger King Kingdom.

Hungry Jack's in Australia has trademarked the new slogan 'Oh Yeah' which has featured in late 2005/early 2006 commercials. Other changes at Hungry Jack's include new fresh salads and deli-style burgers.

While Burger King's logo has since changed to the "blue swirl" design, the Hungry Jack's logo is still (as of 2005) based on the previous Burger King logo, that of the simpler bun-and-contents motif.

Many larger Hungry Jacks stores in Australia, especially in Perth, Western Australia, where the first Hungry Jacks store was opened, have a 1950's/1960's styled theme. Background music from this time is played, and pictures and memorabilia from this era is often hung around the store. In larger sit-down style restaurants the seats and tables are laid out in a 1950's "Diner" style manner. Hungry Jacks has a real Perth identity, with the city's first team in the Australian Football League, the West Coast Eagles, having been sponsored by Hungry Jack's since their entry into the league in 1987.

More recently, Hungry Jack's has 210 locations in Australia while Burger King only has 81 locations.

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The logos of Burger King

Image:OldBurgerKingLogo.jpg The famous bun-halves logo made its debut in 1969 and endured until it was updated in 1998. However, most restaurants did not acquire signs with the new logo until 2001. The logo, meant to resemble a hamburger, features the restaurant's name in red lettering on two lines, sandwiched between two yellow bun halves, and thus was nicknamed the 'Bun Halves' logo. The Bun Halves logo is Burger King's equivalent of McDonald's' Golden Arches. The new Burger King logo tilts the bun halves and lettering on a axis, wraps the burger with a blue swirl, and has a more circular appearance. The Hungry Jack's version of the logo is based on the previous logo which has been used since its founding in 1971. The old logo was given a slight revision in 1994 at both Burger King and Hungry Jack's restaurants up until the switch to the "blue swirl" logo in 1999.

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Countries (and territories) with Burger King restaurants

Image:Burger king world locations.PNG

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Countries (and territories) that once had Burger King restaurants

Source: Template:Cite web

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See also

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External links

Image:Burgerkingrestaurant.jpg

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Product data

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Company data

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