06/21/2026
Burger King just fired the wrong King.
Its new 90-second confession blames the creepy plastic mascot for old restaurants, slow service, crushed Whoppers and years of bad decisions. Even richer, the entire spot is a watered-down copy of Domino’s “Pizza Turnaround” — created by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, the same agency Burger King is now mocking.
CP+B didn’t just make weird ads. With Russ Klein, they identified Burger King’s most valuable customers, rebuilt the brand’s relevance, helped create Chicken Fries, sold 3.5 million Xbox games and contributed to 18 consecutive quarters of positive sales growth.
Since then, Burger King has changed agencies, changed strategies, spent a fortune changing its logo and then changed it back. It killed the excellent Ch’King because making it correctly was too difficult, while fresh-beef chains such as Culver’s and Five Guys ate its lunch. Meanwhile, Burger King still owns the one national advantage none of them can honestly claim: flame broiling.
Fresh beef over a real flame.
A genuinely great chicken sandwich.
Chicken Fries.
A shake worth making a special trip to buy.
That’s a turnaround strategy. A better box, creamier mayonnaise and a 90-second apology are not.
Burger King says the customer is now King. But “Have It Your Way” apparently still means: as long as your way isn’t too difficult or expensive for us.
The problem was never the King.
It’s been the fools ruling the kingdom.
https://thenextwave.biz/crispin-porter-bogusky/burger-king-is-blaming-the-wrong-king/
Burger King keeps changing agencies, logos and products while blaming the King for management’s mistakes. A look at CP+B, Chicken Fries, the Ch’King, frozen ...
