Adverts are arts, right? Sorry if this thread isn’t in the right place…
I just saw an advertisement poster for some version or other of the BK whopper, with the caption ‘Eat like a king, not a clown’. Obviously this is a potshot at Ronald McDonald, but I don’t think I’ve ever noticed a BK advert that was so overtly anti a specific competitor; have I just lived a sheltered life?
Probably also mocking Jack in the Crack, as well.
I’ve seen those as well; is there a name for adverts that specifically target competitors in this way?
Attack ads? Seems to work for politicians…
Actually, back in the mists of the eighties when the earth was still cooling and hair was larger, there was a poll done that indicated a preference for Pepsi products and Burger King food. BK subsequently came out with an ad wherein a Coke delivery guy and a clown that looked suspiciously like Ronald McWhozit commiserated with each other that their time had passed.
Thought it pretty gutsy at the time, myself. Although Pepsi products are vile, nasty and tooth-achingly sweet, I do prefer BK when I eat fast food.
There’s also that horrible Subway commercial going around that looks like it was filmed in the 70’s. Jingle… “Don’t want no greasy burger, I say down with clown today!”
A few years ago, Jack in the Box had ads where they introduced their food to the following people:
Mr Vopper… at the home of the vopper
A guy named Jared at a subway station
Back in the early 1980’s, there was a “gentleman’s agreement” among makers of commercials. The advertiser’s competitor would not be directly named – instead, there’d be a reference to “Brand X”, “the other popular low-priced spread”, or whatever. Then Burger King decided to emphasize the size of its sandwiches relative to those of McDonald’s, and came out with some commercials that featured a little girl asking “Do I look 20% smaller to you?” Mickey D’s ended up suing not only BK and its agency, but the spokesmoppet as well.
And that little girl grew up to be an actress whose name should be familiar to anyone who calls himself or herself a Doper.
And now you know the rest of the story.
Page Two…
Just FYI, a lot of people living east of the Mississippi would have no idea what you’re talking about, and that goes for the OP, who lives in the UK.
They are truly blessed.
But perhaps this will help.
Wendy’s also had a mascot called Smart Square a number of months ago who said he wasn’t a king or a clown.
And here is the commercial .
Wow. Really, wow.
I say that because, during my childhood, Burger King ads were THE example of product attack ads. Their entire campaign seemed to be based on bashing McDonald’s, and I hated them for that (I was a kid, and like every other kid, my heart belonged to McDonald’s). Pepsi too, they were second place mudslingers, but Burger King was quite famous for McDonald’s bashing.
Back somewhere around 1996, I stopped at a Burger King halfway between Pheonix and Tucson. On the wall near the entrance was a nice large poster of the King of Burger standing proudly over the broken and bloody body of a clown with big yellow feet.
I suspect it was just a poster done by one of the employees, not a national ad campaign, but I do remember it making quite an impression on my sheltered canadian psyche.
I’m not sure what timeframe you’d be talking about here, but McDonalds didn’t really come here in force until the early 80s, and BK a little later, so I wouldn’t have been exposed to any attack ads before that period.
Does anyone remember a ‘Burger Wars’ commercial in the '80s or '90s where there was actual combat going on between three competing chains? I only saw it once or twice, in SoCal.
A few years ago, when Coke dicked around with the formula, Pepsi ran an ad which had a couple of toughies having a staring contest, with the caption “After 40 years*, the other guy just blinked”.
*Or however long it was.
When I worked for BK, now some OMG! 25 years ago, there was a promotion I remember clearly.
When approaching the counter to order, if the customer would say “The Whopper Beat the Big Mac” the customer got a buy-one-get-one-free Whopper. It was a huge campaign.
It was hilarous hearing all these people saying the same thing to get the free burger.
According to wikipedia Jack in Box had a slogan
“Watch out Mac. Jack’s Back!”
They’ve got a TV ad campaign going on in the U.K. right now. But this isn’t a patch on the spat between Qualcast and Flymo, oh, about 15 years ago, perhaps more. It even got into the papers:“Lawnmower manufacturers sharpen blades” was the headline.