When it comes to the saturated fat-laden world of fast food, there’s only one king. Burger King, that is. It’s the home of the famous Whopper and that smiling crowned king who goofily prances around in commercials. But believe it or not, the chain hasn’t exactly been honest to their customers over the years. Their biggest lies might be enough to turn away their loyal fanbase for good.
Have It Your Way
When you’re cruising around town enjoying the day and hunger strikes, why not head to a place where you can “have it your way”? Well, there’s only one spot that touts that enticing slogan: Burger King. But is there any truth to that slogan?
China Turns Stomachs
No customers had it their way following a 2020 revelation that several locations in China were selling expired food to customers. The general manager was forced to pay more than $500,000 in fines! Burger King apologized and insisted this was just a rare blip in a history of excellence, but some pointed out that wasn’t exactly true.
First Location Launches
The chain’s origins are innocent enough. Founded in 1954 by James W. McLamore and David Edgerton, the very first location opened in Miami, Florida, and it wasn’t long before people took to the food. It was cheap, fast, and best of all, tasty.
The King Of The Burger
Over the years, Burger King ran memorable marketing campaigns to attract more customers. One of them was a mascot king with a smile stretched across his big plastic head that indicated an honest company. However, that smile is hiding some secrets. People all over the world have caught the fast food giant in a big lie.
Steers Isn’t Pleased
In 2019, a hugely popular South African quick-service chain called Steers called out one Burger King ad showing their patties grilled over an open flame. The Advertising Regulatory Board stepped in to investigate the beef they had.
Where’s The Flame?
As it turned out, Burger King didn’t flame broil there patties at all. They were pressed onto a gas grill in order to broil them. Burger King was forced to take those images out of their advertising, but their lies didn’t stop there.
Vegetarians Up In Arms
When the chain launched the vegetarian Rebel Whopper, which claimed to be “100 percent Whopper, zero percent beef,” they didn’t tell interested diners the patties were cooked on the same grill as actual meat. However, vegetarians were outraged even more by another sneaky tactic.
Blatant Disregard For Patrons
At one location in Brooklyn, the “meatless” Whoppers employees sold were actually just regular Whoppers! The chain claimed a “technology error” put the “meatless” patty on the menu by mistake. But, the controversies didn’t stop at just the beef burgers.
Tendercrisp Chicken Troubles
When one British couple, excited to try the newly launched Tendercrisp chicken burger, headed to Burger King, they unwrapped their sandwiches and were immediately disappointed. It seemed a commercial fooled them into the purchase.
Too Small To Satisfy
While the commercial made the sandwich look huge, the actual sandwiches they received were petite and completely unsatisfying to their appetites. This wasn’t the first time one of the chain’s commercials fooled people with a new item’s look, either.
The Taco Debacle
Burger King took a step outside their bun-minded mentality in 2019 and started serving tacos, which, on television, looked like they were teeming with meat and fixings. In reality, this was what people received. Pathetic. Then, there were also scandals about misleading coupons.
Two-For-“One”
A Maryland woman named Koleta Anderson sued the chain after it turned out her coupon for two-for-one breakfast sandwiches didn’t actually cut the entire price off the second “free” item. The chain admitted to the mistake and issued new coupons.
Left Handed Food?
Granted, some of the chain’s “controversies” were just good-natured jokes. In 1998, Burger King advertised a Whopper meant for lefties, which actually turned out to be an April Fool’s prank many fell for. This also wasn’t the first time the chain took advantage of an April Fool’s gag, either.
The Dessert Burger
Meet the Chocolate Whopper! This bizarre concoction of sugary ingredients left many people scratching their heads in both awe and disgust. Funny enough, however, one location in Taiwan actually took the idea to heart.
Taiwan Makes The Attempt
They launched the Hershey’s Chocolate Whopper, but their version was both savory and sweet. It was an actual beef patty smothered in chocolate and peanut sauce. Let’s just say there was an unappetizing reason this dish didn’t pick up any steam worldwide.
Don’t Make The Customers Angry
Another flop Burger King launched was a red-bunned sandwich called the Angry Whopper. While the strange bread color definitely had customers intrigued, the flavor was lacking. Still, customers nearly as disappointed by that taste as they were with the truth behind an unusual ad campaign.
Artificial Intelligence Swoops In
Some viewers were amused, while others were plain weirded out. In September of 2018, Burger King issued a press release stating one of their ad campaigns was created entirely by a computer algorithm, with no human input whatsoever. Then, a guy named Marcelo Pascoa stepped in to clarify.
Let’s Be Clear, Here
Pascoa was the chain’s global head of brand marketing and said in an interview with AdAge some parts were, in fact, created by humans. He stated, “Artificial intelligence is not a substitute for a great creative idea coming from a real person.”
People Still Respect The King
Despite Burger King’s sordid history, it’s a chain that keeps people coming back again and again. It’s not easy to create a global food giant without sweeping some scandals, and Burger King’s biggest rival is no exception. McDonald’s earliest days were full of dishonest swindling.
