Recently, the two giants in the fast food industry staged an interesting "CEO tasting battle." McDonald's CEO Chris Kempski recorded a tasting video to promote his newly launched "Big Mac Archway Burger", but his reserved and slightly reluctant attitude throughout the whole process sparked heated discussions across the Internet. Later, Tom Curtis, the president of Burger King in the United States and Canada, released a video in which he boldly bit into his signature Whopper, which seemed to be an insinuation of the McDonald's CEO's tasting performance.
It is reported that the "Big Mac Arch Burger" launched by McDonald's this time is positioned as the "largest burger in history" and contains two 1/4 pound beef patties, three slices of cheese and special sauce. It is the first permanent new product added to the brand's global menu since the launch of Chicken McNugget in 1983. It is of great strategic significance. In order to build momentum for the new product, CEO Chris Kempski personally posted a tasting video on his personal social account. However, his performance in the video unexpectedly "overturned".
McDonald's CEO's tasting
In the video, Kempsky refers to the new burger as a "product", with a clear sense of distance in his words and body language. He holds the edge of the burger with one hand and barely takes a small bite. His expression is stiff and his eyes are wandering while chewing, as if he is tasting unknown food, without enjoying the food at all. Netizens ridiculed him for "eating like a person to death" and "the vegetable leaves only suffered skin injuries." This tasting video quickly became popular, not only causing ridicule among netizens, but also being interpreted as a signal that "executives are out of touch with their own products."
On March 2, Burger King released a video on the TikTok platform, featuring its president of the United States and Canada, Tom Curtis. In the video, Curtis is wearing an apron with the words "Flame Grill Since 1954" printed on it. He picks up a freshly baked Whopper in the kitchen and takes a big bite without hesitation. He chews it with relish and doesn't care about the sauce on the corner of his mouth. He also naturally jokes to the camera that "all it takes is a napkin". He is naturally relaxed throughout the process and is completely enjoying the food.
It is worth noting that Burger King captioned this video with "thought we'd replay this". Although it did not directly mention McDonald's or its CEO, nor did it comment on the relevant controversy, but combined with the previous McDonald's CEO's tasting controversy, this operation was generally interpreted by netizens as a "connotative counterattack", which can be called a textbook level of marketing.
So far, the video has been viewed more than one million times on TikTok, and the comment section was full of applause. Some netizens said bluntly, "He took too many bites, unlike the CEO of McDonald's." "The word 'product' was not mentioned in the whole process, so sincere."
It is reported that Burger King has also been making frequent moves recently. It just announced that it will upgrade its signature Whopper for the first time in nearly ten years, replacing it with higher-quality bread and mayonnaise, and switching to box packaging. Curtis himself even disclosed his personal mobile phone number and answered calls from customers for two consecutive weeks to collect feedback. His down-to-earth style is in line with the heroic eating in his videos. In contrast, the McDonald's CEO's formal "office tasting" seemed particularly distant and deliberate.
This "tasting battle" between the two fast food giants is essentially a microcosm of the long-term market competition between the two parties. In this incident, the focus of heated discussions among netizens has gradually shifted from the burger itself to the sincerity of brand executives. Consumers believe that the most touching thing about the promotion of a delicacy is the promoter’s own recognition and love. Kampuski’s “reluctance” and Curtis’s “enjoyment” are in sharp contrast, making this business competition more interesting and topical.