First, The Clown. Now, The King. The fast food mascots are falling faster than the french fries at the fast food giants. Mickey Dee’s has sent our beloved Ronald out to pasture as they try to prove that they’re not guilty of hawking fat-laden crap to our kids disguised as “happy meal” toys. Now, arch-rival Burger King has taken the idiotic mascot “reinvented” by Crispin, Poter + Bogusky out behind the woodshed.
“The King is not our brand,” said Steve Wiborg, Burger King’s North America president. “He resonates with a certain age demographic and in certain media. I don’t think he has general mass market appeal.”
Ya think?
Remember all the fanfair when the sainted CP+B unveiled The King, an over-sized version of a bobble-head doll that had to cause more nightmares than Chuckie ever did? The King never made any sense, except for the narrowest of target audiences, but God forbid a big brand base their marketing decisions in actual strategy. By the way, the King wasn’t the only one to get the axe – CP+B got fired, too. It will be interesting to see if the new agency actually does a little market research before launching the new King-free campaign.
UPDATE: The body of The King will be flame-broiled before being dusted with sodium and entombed along with his old arch-rival Ronald in a special section of Arlington Cemetery reserved for dead mascots. His plot will be right alongside the freaky red-headed Wendy and Colonel Sanders, who, by the way, had his body deep-fried and will remain preserved forever.