...Burger King

Burger King is killing the King! Now under now ownerships, management and marketing, Burger King has decided to retire it's somewhat creepy king for now. For years, Burger King had placed its bets on edgy commercials by creative powerhouse Crispin Porter + Bogusky, targeting men in their teens and 20s. Crispin's campaigns got a lot of attention, and plaudits from the advertising community. Unfortunately, however, advertising awards don't necessarily translate into sales, and Burger King has been badly lagging main rival McDonald's. Burger King's same-store sales declined 6% in the first quarter; compare that to a 3% rise for Mc Donald's. It is not the King's fault, it is Burger King's fault. They are now focusing updating the stores, fixing its food and changing its image. Alex Maccedo SVP of marketing said, "People want a reason to go back to Burger King ... There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon." I am giving Burger King a Digit Down because the King is funny, creepy and makes them relevant. Their food is blah and I do not see that changing anytime soon. Below are some of the commercials that starred the King.

...Subway

Recently I watched a special on McDonald's and at that time they had the most restaurants or "restaurants" around the world with over 32,000. Well there is someone else who can claim that title now...Subway. Subway, at the end of last year, had 33,749 compared to McDonald's with only 32,737. This has been a long time coming. Though McDonald's still made $9 billion more than Subway, the tide could turn. Subway introduced the $5 foot-long a few years ago after a franchise owner started it as a weekly promo. It stuck and the chain gained more notoriety. Subway boost a healthier menu than McDonald which is becoming more of a norm than a niche. By opening restaurants in unusual locations such as an automobile showroom in California, an appliance store in Brazil, a ferry terminal in Seattle, a riverboat in Germany, a zoo in Taiwan, a Goodwill store in South Carolina, a high school in Detroit and a church in Buffalo, New York,Subway has been able to increase its rapid growth. Hopefully they will not have a stumble like McDonald's did a few years back or even worse a fall like Arby's. I am giving Subway a Digit Up because I am just not into McDonald's. I am not a kid and they can no longer lure me in with toys.

...McDonald's

As you know America is a very fat country, people wise. McDonald's is a top food chain here and around the world. Here they are starting to give in and serve healthier options, but in Japan not so much, in fact there is only one salad, one sad side salad. Their new campaign called "Big America 2" features 4 burgers named after American locations. They range from medium to LARGE. The Idaho burger, which will make its debut by the end of this month, features a quarter-pound beef patty, melted cheese, a deep-fried hash brown, strips of bacon, onions and pepper-and-mustard sauce. The calorie count: 713. The Texas 2 Burger -- with chili, three buns, cheese and bacon comes in at 645 calories. The 557-calorie Miami burger has tortilla chips not as a side dish, but nestled on top of the beef patty. By contrast, McDonald's Japan's Quarter Pounder and Big Mac mainstays come in at 556 calories each. In America roughly 67% of adults are overweight compared to the 23% in Japan, probably sumo wrestlers. I guess McDonald's really wants to change that. Luckily these burgers will be around for a limited time offer, which in Japan only makes them more appealing. I know that many American companies give us the "good" stuff and pawn off other things on other countries, but this kind of makes McDonald's look shady. Selling health to us and then selling fat to the Japanese. It could be much much worse though, but I still do not approve. I am giving McDonald's a Digit Down.

...Health Care Waivers

Here we go again The controversial health care plan that had all of America abuzz is doing it again. With almost 1 million employees about to lose their health care coverage, 30 companies we given waivers. The waivers were given in order to make sure that they employees did not lose their coverage, because their employer threatened to drop them, and to make sure that they did not have to pay high premiums out of their own pocket. Some of the companies that received these waivers were: McDonald's, Jack in the Box, Aetna and Cigna. The law says that employers and their insurer have to offer an annual coverage limit of least $750,000 by 2011, $1.25 million by 2012 and to $2 million by 2013. McDonald's had this to say, "We remain in conversations with our current provider and are confident that we'll continue to provide health care coverage for our 30,000 hourly restaurant employees. We're pleased and encouraged by the progress that's been made by the Federal government on this issue." Since the law does not take effect until 2014 the companies can apply for these waivers until then, which Cigna said it plans to do. I think this is just perfect. Eventually these companies will have to pay out huge sums of money annually for health care and somehow it will be paid for by the customer. I assume these companies think that the law will be tweaked by the new Congress and Senate that is about to come into term, which is probably true. Many economist and business majors told the President and those in Congress that this could happen, but they did not care! They did exactly what they wanted to do and that crappy bill became a crappy law. I am giving these waivers a Digit Down.