The rivalry between the main hamburger chains worldwide has entered a new terrain, that of product testing by their business leaders. And Burger King has published a video of its President in the United States, Tom Curtis, eating a Whopper in response to the commented video of Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, presenting the new “Big Arch”.
The latter has been the protagonist of the social conversation over the last few days due to his obvious discomfort when trying the company’s new burger, which is launched in the US market after tests carried out in Portugal, Germany and Canada. The video, which Kempczinski published on his Instagram profile, was intended to be a promotional action that ended up becoming a public relations fiasco.
Users consider that the publication lacks authenticity, and point out that the manager shows a feigned enthusiasm that does not convey true enjoyment of the experience that the company seeks to offer with the new burger. They have criticized, for example, the small bite that is thrown into the hamburger, which refers to it as a “product”, which makes the brand seem clinical and distant; or his questionable tone of communication.
Burger King has not missed the moment of the conversation and has published a video on social networks in which Tom Curtis devours one of his company’s hamburgers. “We thought about seeing this again,” the brand noted in the publication, alluding to the fact that the scene is part of a previous footage. In the video, the manager seems to enjoy the hamburger and says: ““There’s only one thing missing, a napkin.”.
Specifically, the fragment has been taken from another video recently published on TikTok and is part of the campaign that the company currently has underway. As we reported in reason.WhyBurger King has made public a telephone line so that any customer can call or send messages directly to Curtis, who has committed to devoting at least four hours a day – including nights and weekends – for two weeks to personally address suggestions, complaints and ideas related to the brand.
One of the consequences of this is the update of the Whopper burger recipe, which represents its first reformulation in ten years. “Over the past few years, we have focused on strengthening our operations and modernizing our restaurants“Tom Curtis commented in a statement at the end of February. “With that work well underway, we are now in a position to carefully improve our main menu. The Whopper is an icon, so we didn’t set out to reinvent it. Instead, we improve it based on direct customer feedback”.
The publication of the new video, which in less than a day has accumulated more than 4.5 million views on social networks, has been received with positive sentiment by users, unlike what happened in the case of McDonald’s. “I prefer this product“, “This is how it’s done“, “Now that’s a good bite” either “McDonald’s CEO could never”, are some of the comments that can be read in response to the publication.
The Burger King video is understood more under the company’s intention to continue building a perception of accessibility and identification for its top executive, than a battle over the quality or taste of the products. Although, judging by the reactions, the video could have effects on perception and preference. “This really makes me want Burger King” either “Is it just me or is Burger King safer to eat than McDonald’s?”, are some comments from users.
All of this is also framed in a context in which business leaders increasingly place themselves in front of the camera to appear closer to an audience that prioritizes relationships through social networks and digital platforms. Based on the reaction of users to the Burger King video, it seems that it gets it right where McDonald’s went wrong, such as the importance of conveying authenticity in each brand communication or the familiarity and connection that the CEO and senior management must have with the product sold by the company they lead. It is essential that managers know and consume the products to be able to communicate all their virtues in a genuine way.
