All Topics  
Burger King

 

   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link






 

Burger King



 
 
Burger King , often abbreviated to BK, is a global chain
Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses....
 of hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
 fast food
Fast food

File:2008-0614-In-N-Out-burgsfries.jpgFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for Tak...
 restaurants. Burger King is headquartered at 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive in unincorporated
Unincorporated

Unincorporated may refer to:* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality** Unincorporated area , communities that are governed by incorporated municipalities...
 Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the List of the most populous counties in the United States....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
 in 1954 by James McLamore
James McLamore

James Whitman McLamore was co-founder of the Burger King fast food Franchising with David Edgerton. Both were graduates of Cornell University....
 and David Edgerton
David Edgerton

For the British historian of the same name, see David Edgerton David Edgerton was an American entrepreneur and the founder of the Burger King Corporation....
, and has since used several variations of franchising
Franchising

Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's philosophy of business. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee....
 to expand its operations. Burger King Holdings Corporation is the parent company of Burger King; in the United States it operates under the Burger King Brands title while internationally it operates under the Burger King Corporation banner.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Burger King'
Start a new discussion about 'Burger King'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts









Encyclopedia


Burger King , often abbreviated to BK, is a global chain
Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses....
 of hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
 fast food
Fast food

File:2008-0614-In-N-Out-burgsfries.jpgFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for Tak...
 restaurants. Burger King is headquartered at 5505 Blue Lagoon Drive in unincorporated
Unincorporated

Unincorporated may refer to:* Unincorporated area, land not governed by a local municipality** Unincorporated area , communities that are governed by incorporated municipalities...
 Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the county population was 2,387,170 in 2007, making it the most populous county in Florida and the List of the most populous counties in the United States....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

The first restaurant was opened in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
 in 1954 by James McLamore
James McLamore

James Whitman McLamore was co-founder of the Burger King fast food Franchising with David Edgerton. Both were graduates of Cornell University....
 and David Edgerton
David Edgerton

For the British historian of the same name, see David Edgerton David Edgerton was an American entrepreneur and the founder of the Burger King Corporation....
, and has since used several variations of franchising
Franchising

Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's philosophy of business. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee....
 to expand its operations. Burger King Holdings Corporation is the parent company of Burger King; in the United States it operates under the Burger King Brands title while internationally it operates under the Burger King Corporation banner. It is a publicly traded company with investment firms of TPG Capital, Bain Capital
Bain Capital

Bain Capital LLC is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as a leveraged buyout and venture capital funding, Bain Capital today manages approximately $80 billion in assets, and its strategies include private equity & venture capital as well as long/short pu...
 and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments globally....
 each owning about 25% of the company.

At the end of its fiscal year 2008, Burger King reported that there are more than 11,550 outlets in 71 countries; 66% are in the United States and 90% are privately owned and operated
Burger King franchises

The international fast-food restaurant chain store Burger King has used several variations of franchising to expand its operations since it began growing in the late 1950s....
. The company has more than 37,000 employees serving approximately 11.4 million customers daily. In North America, franchises are licensed on a per store basis, while in several international locations licenses are sold on a regional basis with franchises owning exclusive development rights for the region or country. These regional franchises are known as master franchises, and are responsible for opening new restaurants, licensing new third party operators, and performing standards oversight of all restaurant locations in these countries. The largest example of a master franchise is Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's

Hungry Jack's is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. Its parent company is Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin....
, which exclusively owns, operates or sub-licenses over 300 restaurants in Australia.

As with other multi-national corporations, Burger King has been involved in several legal disputes and cases
Burger King legal issues

The international fast food restaurant chain store Burger King, often abbreviated to BK, has been involved in several legal disputes and cases, as both plaintiff and defendant, in the years since its founding in 1954....
, as both plaintiff and defendant, in the years since its founding in 1954. Situations involving a myriad of legal topics have affected all aspects of the company's operations. Depending upon its ownership and executive staff at the time, its responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences. How the company responded to these various issues has drawn praise, scorn, and accusations of political appeasement.

The Burger King menu
Burger King products

When the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King first opened in Miami, Florida in 1954, its menu consisted predominantly of hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts....
 has evolved from a basic offering of burgers, fries, sodas and milkshakes in 1954 to a larger, more diverse set of offerings that includes several variations of chicken
Chicken (food)

Chicken is the meat derived from chicken. It is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is frequently prepared as food in a large number of ways....
, fish
Fish (food)

Fish as food describes the edible parts of freshwater and seawater, poikilothermic vertebrates with gills. Shellfish, such as mollusks and crustaceans, are other edible water-dwelling animals that fall into the broadest category of fish....
, salad
Salad

Salad is a mixture of cold or hot foods, usually including vegetables and/or fruits, often with a dressing, occasionally nuts or croutons, and sometimes with the addition of meat, fish, pasta, cheese, eggs, or whole grains....
s and breakfast
Breakfast

Breakfast is a meal eaten after a long period of sleep, most often eaten in the morning. The word came about because it means breaking the fast after one has not eaten since the night before....
. The Whopper
Whopper

The Whopper sandwich is the signature product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in the global market....
, a sandwich that has since become Burger King's signature product, was the first major addition to the menu by Mr. McLamore in 1957. Not all introductions have had the success of the Whopper; BK has introduced many products which failed to catch hold in the marketplace. Some products that have failed in the US have seen success in foreign markets, where BK has also tailored its menu for regional tastes.

The company's "Golden Age" of advertising
Burger King advertising

International fast food restaurant chain store Burger King has employed varied advertising programs, both successful and unsuccessful, since its foundation in 1954....
 was during the 1970s when it introduced its mascot the Magical Burger King
The Burger King

The Burger King is a character created as its advertising mascot for the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King who became famous in numerous television commercials, including the Burger King Kingdom....
, a memorable jingle, and several well known and parodied slogans. Beginning in the early 1980s, its advertising began to lose focus; a series of less successful ad campaigns created by various agencies continued for the next two decades. In 2003, Burger King set about resuscitating its moribund advertising with the hiring of the Miami-based advertising agency of Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a member of publicly-traded MDC Partners , is an advertising agency that currently employs around 700 people.The agency is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with a growing "co-headquarters" in Boulder, Colorado and additional offices in Santa Monica and London....
 (CP+B). They completely reorganized Burger King's advertising with a series of new advertisements centered on a resuscitated Magical Burger King character.

Corporate profile


History


InstaBurger King
Burger King's first restaurant
Restaurant

A restaurant prepares and serves food and drink to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery ....
, originally called InstaBurger King, was opened on December 4, 1954 in a suburb of Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida

Miami is a global city in southeastern Florida, in the United States. Miami is the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, the most populous county in Florida....
 by James McLamore and David Edgerton; both alumni of the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration
Cornell University School of Hotel Administration

The School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University is a specialized business school for Hospitality management studies founded in 1922 as the first four-year intercollegiate school devoted to the field....
. McLamore visited the original McDonald's hamburger stand belonging to Dick and Mac McDonald
Dick and Mac McDonald

Richard "Dick" J. McDonald and Maurice "Mac" McDonald were two early Cuisine of the United States fast food pioneers, originally from Manchester, New Hampshire, New Hampshire, who established the first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California in 1940....
 in San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino, California

San Bernardino is the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. San Bernardino's estimated population, as of 2006, is 205,010....
; sensing potential in their innovative assembly line
Assembly line

An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner using optimally planned logistics to create a finished product much faster than with handcrafting-type methods....
-based production system, he decided to create a version of his own. By 1959, BK had grown to five regional stores in and around the metropolitan Miami area. About this time, McLamore and Edgerton decided to expand BK nationally by using a franchising system; a popular method for expansion due to its low capital cost for the parent company. They formed Burger King Corporation as the parent and began selling territorial franchise licenses to private owners across the US.
Pillsbury Company
In 1967, after eight years of private operation, the Pillsbury Company acquired Burger King and its parent company Burger King Corporation. At the time of the purchase, BK had grown to 274 restaurants in the United States. Even though Pillsbury owned and operated the company, BK was still the object of a series of failed and successful acquisitions and divestitures. In 1973, Chart House, owner of 350 BK restaurants at the time and one of BK's largest franchise groups, attempted to purchase the chain from Pillsbury for $100 million (USD). When Chart House's bid failed, its owners, Billy and Jimmy Trotter, suggested that Pillsbury and Chart House spin off their respective Burger King holdings and merge the two entities into a separate company, an offer Pillsbury also declined. After the failed attempts to acquire BK, the relationship with Chart House and the Trotters began to sour; in 1979 BK successfully sued Chart House for improperly acquiring locations in Boston and Houston. In 1984, Pillsbury purchased Chart House's successor DiversiFoods for $390 million (USD) after a separate, independent $525 million DiversiFoods management-backed leveraged buy-out of the company failed.

Grand Metropolitan
BK, and former corporate siblings, Bennigan's
Bennigan's

Bennigan's Grill & Tavern, commonly known as Bennigan's, is a tavern-themed casual dining restaurant chain with locations throughout the United States, and in 14 countries and 15 territories outside the continental U.S....
, Steak and Ale
Steak and Ale

Steak and Ale was an United States chain of casual dining restaurants, operated by S&A Restaurant Group. Steak and Ale was founded as an independent restaurant chain in Dallas, Texas on February 26, 1966, by Norman E....
, Godfather's Pizza
Godfather's Pizza

Godfather's Pizza is an Italian cuisine restaurant chain that was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1973 by William Theisen. The company was sold by Theisen to Pillsbury Company in the mid 1980s and Theisen stepped down from actively managing the company....
 (part of the DiversiFoods acquisition), Quik Wok and Häagen-Dazs
Häagen-Dazs

H?agen-Dazs is an United States of America brand of ice cream, established by Polish Americans Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York in 1961....
 ice cream shops, remained under the Pillsbury corporate umbrella until Pillsbury divested its restaurant holdings in 1989 and sold Burger King to British alcoholic beverage
Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol . Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and distilled beverage....
 manufacturer and distributor Grand Metropolitan
Grand Metropolitan

Grand Metropolitan plc was a United Kingdom-based company operating hotels, holiday centres, entertainment centres, public houses and casinos. The company was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but it merged with Guinness to form Diageo in 1997....
 PLC. In 1989, under the ownership of Grand Met, Burger King acquired many locations of its major UK rival Wimpy
Wimpy

Wimpy could refer to:*Wimpy , a chain of hamburger restaurants, named after the cartoon character*J. Wellington Wimpy, a hamburger-loving character from the Popeye cartoons....
 when the parent company bought the Wimpy's brand from its previous owner United Biscuits
United Biscuits

__FORCETOC__United Biscuits is a United Kingdom Multinational corporation food manufacturer, makers of McVitie's biscuits, KP Snacks, Hula Hoops, The Real McCoy's crisps, Phileas Fogg snacks, Jacob's Cream cracker, and Twiglets....
 and re-branded them as Burger King, giving it an even greater presence in that country. While other "Wimpy" locations are still in operation presently, they are now independent from BK and no longer have the presence they once did. In 1997, Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness
Guinness

Guinness is a popular dry stout that originated in Arthur Guinness' first brewery in Leixlip, County Kildare but it then moved to its present home at St....
 to form a company called Diageo
Diageo

Diageo plc is the largest multinational Alcoholic beverage in the world. The Company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has American Depositary Receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange....
. Diageo maintained ownership of BKC until 2001 when Diageo decided to focus solely on their beverage products and divest itself of the chain.

Burgerkingrestaurant
By the time of the sale, Burger King's revenues and market share had declined significantly, Burger King had fallen to a near tie for second place with rival Wendy's
Wendy's

Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is an international Chain store of fast food restaurants founded by Dave Thomas & John T. Schuessler on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio....
 in the US market for hamburger chain restaurants. For many years leading into the early 2000s Burger King and its various owners plus many of its larger franchises closed many under-performing stores. Several of its largest franchises entered bankruptcy due to the issues surrounding the performance of the brand.
New Owners: TPG Capital and Others
In 2002, a troika
Triumvirate

The term triumvirate is commonly used to describe a political regime dominated by three powerful individuals. The arrangement can be formal or informal, and though the three are usually equal on paper, in reality this is rarely the case....
 of private equity
Private equity

In finance, private equity is an asset class consisting of Stock securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
 firms led by TPG Capital, L.P with associates Bain Capital
Bain Capital

Bain Capital LLC is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as a leveraged buyout and venture capital funding, Bain Capital today manages approximately $80 billion in assets, and its strategies include private equity & venture capital as well as long/short pu...
 and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners

Goldman Sachs Capital Partners is the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs, focused on leveraged buyout and growth capital investments globally....
 agreed to purchase BK from Diageo for $1.5 billion (USD), with the sale becoming complete in December of that year. The new owners, through several new CEOs, have moved to revitalize and reorganize the company, the first major move was to re-name the BK parent as Burger King Brands. The investment group initially planned to take BK public within the two years of the acquisition, this was delayed until 2006. On February 1, 2006, CEO Greg Brenneman
Greg Brenneman

Greg Brenneman is the Chairman of CCMP Capital, a private equity firm. Most recently, Brenneman had served as president and CEO of Quiznos Sub, a fast-food sandwich chain....
 announced TPG's plans to turn Burger King into a publicly traded company by issuing an Initial Public Offering
Initial public offering

Initial public offering , also referred to simply as a "public offering" or "flotation," is when a company issues common stock or Share to the public for the first time....
 (IPO).

Publicly Traded Company
On February 16, the company announced it had filed its registration for the IPO with the Securities and Exchange Commission. On May 18, 2006, Burger King began trading on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange based in New York City, New York. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by United States dollar market capitalization of its listed companies' Security ....
 under the ticker symbol BKC and generated $425 million in revenue, the largest IPO of a US-based restaurant chain on record.

International expansion

While BK began its foray in to locations outside of the continental United States in 1963 with a store in San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan is the Capital and largest Municipalities of Puerto Rico in Puerto Rico. As of the United States Census Bureau, it has a population of 433,733, making it the List of United States cities by population city under the jurisdiction of the United States....
, it did not have a large international presence. This situation changed shortly after the acquisition when Pillsbury opened its first international restaurant in Canada in 1969. Other international locations followed soon after: Oceania
Oceania

Oceania is a geography, often geopolitics, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville....
 in 1971 with Hungry Jack's and in Europe in 1975 with a restaurant in Madrid, Spain. Beginning in 1982, BK and its franchisees began operating stores in several East Asian countries, including Japan, Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
, Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 and South Korea. Due to high competition, all of the Japanese locations closed by the end of 2001. BK reentered the Japanese market in mid-2007. BK's Central and South American operations began in Mexico in the late 1970s. While Burger King lags behind McDonald's in international locations by over 12,000 stores, it has managed to become the largest chain in several countries including Mexico and Spain. To assist in its international expansion, Burger King has established several subsidiaries to develop strategic partnerships and alliances to expand into new territories; in Europe, Burger King's subsidiary Burger King Europe GmbH is responsible for the licensing and development of BK franchises in the that market, Africa and Western Asia. In Asia, the BK AsiaPac, PTE. Ltd. business unit handles franchising for East Asia, the Asian subcontinent and all Oceanic territories except Australia.

Over the ten year period starting in 2008, Burger King sees 80% of its market share to be driven by foreign expansion, particularly in the Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or APAC is the area generally regarded as encompassing littoral East Asia, Southeast Asia and Australasia near the Pacific Ocean, plus the states in the ocean itself ....
 and Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent

The Indian subcontinent is a large section of the Asian continent consisting of the land lying substantially on the Indian Plate. The subcontinent includes parts of various countries in South Asia, including those on the continental crust , an Island#Continental islands country on the continental shelf , and an Island#Oceanic islands countr...
 regional markets. While the TPG-lead group has continued BK's international expansion by announcing plans to open new franchise locations in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe is a term that applies to the geopolitical region encompassing the easternmost part of the Europe. Throughout history and to a lesser extent today, parts of Eastern Europe has been distinguishable from Western Europe and other regions due to cultural, religious, economic, and historical reasons, even though there i...
, Africa and the Middle East, and Brazil, the company plans to focus on the three largest markets, India, China and Japan. The company plans to add over 250 stores in these Asian territories, as well as other countries such as Macau
Macau

The Macau Special Administrative Region, , commonly known as Macau or Macao , is one of the two special administrative region of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong....
, by the end of 2012. Its expansion into the Indian market has the company at a competitive disadvantage with other QSR vendors such as KFC
KFC

KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky. KFC was a wholly owned subsidiary of YUM! Brands from 1997?2002, and has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Yum! Brands since 2002....
 because the country's large Hindu majority's aversion to beef. BK hopes to use their recent non-beef products, such as their TenderCrisp
Tendercrisp

The TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by Burger King, an international fast-food restaurant chain. It is one of their larger, adult oriented products made with higher quality ingredients than their "standard" menu items....
 and TenderGrill
TenderGrill

The TenderGrill chicken sandwich is a grilling chicken sandwich sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in the several global market....
 sandwiches, as well as other products to help them overcome this hurdle to expand in that country.

At the end of its fiscal 2008 year, Burger King is the second largest chain
Chain store

Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses....
 of hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
 fast food
Fast food

File:2008-0614-In-N-Out-burgsfries.jpgFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for Tak...
 restaurants in the world behind industry bellwether McDonald's
McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts....
 (31,000 locations) and the fourth largest fast food restaurant chain overall after Yum! Brands
Yum! Brands

YUM! Brands, Inc. or Yum! is a Fortune 500 corporation, that operates or licenses Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Long John Silver's restaurants worldwide, and A&W Restaurants Based in Louisville, Kentucky, Kentucky, it is the world's largest fast food restaurant company in terms of system units — over 35,000 restaurants around t...
 (34,000 locations), McDonald's and Subway
Subway (restaurant)

Subway Restaurants, commonly known as Subway, is a restaurant franchising that primarily sells Hoagies and salads. It is owned by Doctor's Associates, Inc. ....
 (28,400 locations).

Key dates

Key dates include:
  • 1954: James McLamore and David Edgerton establish Burger King Corporation.
  • 1957: The Whopper is launched.
  • 1958: BK releases its first TV advertisement.
  • 1959: The company begins to expand through franchising.
  • 1967: Burger King is sold to Pillsbury.
  • 1977: Donald N. Smith
    Donald N. Smith (restaurateur)

    Donald Smith was an influential restaurant executive for McDonald's, Burger King and other fast food franchise restaurants in the latter half of the 20th century....
     is hired to restructure the firm's franchise system.
  • 1982: Burger King claims its burgers taste better than its competition's (McDonald's and Wendy's) fried burgers.
  • 1989: Grand Metropolitan plc acquires Pillsbury.
  • 1997: The firm launches a $70 million French fry advertising campaign; Grand Metropolitan merges with Guinness to form Diageo plc.
  • 2000: Diaego investigates a possible IPO or sale of the company
  • 2001: A North American franchise group seeks to purchase the company
  • 2002: A group of investors led by Texas Pacific Group acquire Burger King.
  • 2006: BKC, with the same stock symbol, goes public in an IPO.


Industry innovations

  • In the early 1970s, Burger King was the first fast-food restaurant to offer an enclosed and air-conditioned seating area.


Franchises


When Burger King Corporation began franchising in 1967, it relied on a regional franchising model where franchisees would purchase the right to open stores within a defined geographic region. These franchise
Franchising

Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's philosophy of business. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee....
 agreements granted BKC very little oversight control over its franchisees and resulted in issues of product quality control, store image and design and operations procedures.

This model remained in place until 1978 when Donald Smith initiated a restructuring of all future franchising agreements, disallowing new owners from living more than one hour from their restaurants, preventing corporations from owning franchises and prohibiting franchisees from operating other chains. This new policy effectively limited the size of franchisees and prevented larger franchises from challenging Burger King Corporation as Chart House had. Smith also sought to have BKC be the primary owner of new locations and rent or lease the restaurants to its franchises. This policy would allow the company to take over the operations of failing stores or evict those owners who would not conform to the company guidelines and policies. However, by 1988 BKC parent Pillsbury had relaxed many of Smith's changes, scaled back on construction of new locations and stalling growth. Neglect of Burger King by new owner Grand Met, and its successor Diageo, further hurt the standing of the brand, causing yet more financial damage to BK franchises.

By 2001 and nearly eighteen years of stagnant growth, many of its franchises were in some sort of financial distress. The lack of growth severely impacted BKC's largest franchise, the nearly 400 store AmeriKing; by 2001 the company, which until this point had been struggling under a nearly $300 million debt load and been shedding store across the US, was forced to enter Chapter 11
Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code

Chapter 11 is a chapter of the United States Bankruptcy in the United States, which permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States....
 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors. Creditors may file a bankruptcy petition against a debtor in an effort to recoup a portion of what they are owed or initiate a restructuring....
. The failure of AmeriKing deeply affected the value of the BKC, and put negotiations between Diaego and the TPC Capital-lead group on hold. The developments eventually forced Diaego to lower the total selling price of BKC by almost three quarters of a billion dollars. After the sale, newly appointed CEO Bradley Blum initiated a program to help the roughly 20% of its franchises, including its four largest, who were in financial distress, bankruptcy or had ceased operations altogether. Partnering with the California-based Trinity Capital, LLC, the company established the Franchisee Financial Restructuring Initiative, a program to address the financial issues facing BK's financially distressed franchisees. The initiative was designed to assist franchisees in restructuring their businesses in order to meet financial obligations, focus on restaurant operational excellence, reinvest in their operations and return to profitability.

Individual owners also took advantage of the AmeriKing failure; one of BK's regional owners, Miami-based Al Cabrera, purchased 130 stores located primarily in the Chicago and the upper mid-west region, from the failed company for a bargain basement price of $16 million, or approximately 88% of their original value. The new company, which started out as Core Value Partners and eventually became Heartland Foods
Heartland Foods

Heartland Foods is one of the largest franchises of Burger King. The Downers Grove, Illinois-based company owns and operates over 225 restaurants in six US States....
, also purchased 120 additional stores from distressed owners and completely revamped them. The resulting purchases made Mr. Cabrerra BKB's largest minority franchisee and Heartland one of BKH's top franchises. By 2006, the company was valued at over $150 million, and was sold to New York-based GSO Capital Partners. Other purchasers included a three way group of NFL
National Football League

The National Football League is the Major North American professional sports leagues American football Sports league in the United States. It is an unincorporated 501#501.28c.29.286.29 association controlled by its members....
 athletes Kevin Faulk
Kevin Faulk

Kevin Tony Faulk is an American football running back for the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He played college football at LSU Tigers football, is known as a third-down back and pass receiver out of the backfield....
, Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen

Marcus LeMarr Allen is a former American football player , and until recently affiliated with CBS as a game analyst. As a professional, Allen ran for 12,243 yards and caught 587 passes for 5,411 yards during his career for both the Oakland Raiders and the Kansas City Chiefs from 1982 to 1997....
 and Michael Strahan
Michael Strahan

Michael Anthony Strahan , is a former American football defensive end who played for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He is currently a football analyst on FOX NFL Sunday....
 who collectively purchased 17 stores in the cities of Norfolk
Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Virginia in the United States. With a population of 234,403 as of the United States Census 2000, it is Virginia's second-largest incorporated city....
 and Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia

Richmond is the Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. Like all Virginia municipalities incorporated as cities, it is an independent city and not part of any county....
; and Cincinnati-based franchisee Dave Devoy, who purchased 32 AmeriKing stores. After investing in new decor, equipment and staff retraining, many of the formerly failing stores have shown growth upwards of 20%.

Legal issues

As with other multi-national corporations, Burger King has had its share of legal issues and cases. Situations involving a myriad of topics have affected all aspects of the company. Depending upon its ownership and executive staff at the time, its responses to these challenges have ranged from a conciliatory dialog with its critics to a more aggressive opposition with questionable tactics and negative consequences. How the company responded to these various issues has drawn praise, scorn, and accusations of political appeasement.

A trademark dispute involving the owners of the similarly named Burger King
Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois)

Burger King is a restaurant owned by the Hoots family in Mattoon, Illinois. The restaurant is the original Burger King, and is not related to the fast food chain Burger King; the 1968 court case between this restaurant and the larger Burger King is a well-known case in United States trademark law....
 in Mattoon, Illinois
Mattoon, Illinois

Mattoon is a city in Coles County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,291 as of the 2000 census. It is a principal city of the Charleston, Illinois–Mattoon Charleston-Mattoon micropolitan area....
 led to a federal lawsuit whose outcome helped define the scope of the Lanham act
Lanham Act

The Lanham Act is a piece of legislation that contains the federal statutes of trademark law in the United States. The Act prohibits a number of activities, including trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising....
 in the United States; while an existing trademark held by a shop of the same name in Queensland forced the company to change its name in Australia. Legal decisions from other suits have set contractual law
Contract

A contract is an exchange of promises between two or more parties to do, or refrain from doing, an act which is enforceable in a court of law. It is a binding legal agreement....
 precedent
Precedent

In common law Legal systems of the world, a precedent or authority is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body adopts when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts....
s in regards to long-arm statutes, the limitations of franchise agreements
Franchising

Franchising refers to the methods of practicing and using another person's philosophy of business. The franchisor grants the independent operator the right to distribute its products, techniques, and trademarks for a percentage of gross monthly sales and a royalty fee....
, and ethical business practices
Good faith

Good faith, or in Latin language bona fides , is the mental state and morality of honesty, belief as to the truth or falsehood of a proposition or body of opinion, or as to the rectitude or depravity of a line of conduct....
; many of these decisions have helped define general business dealings that continue to shape the entire marketplace.

Controversies and disputes with groups such as PETA
Peta

Peta can refer to:* peta-, an SI prefix denoting a factor of 1015* Peta, Greece, a town in Greece* Peta, the Pali word for a Preta, or hungry ghost in Buddhism...
 over the welfare of animals, governmental and social agencies over health issues, and unions and trade groups over labor relations, have touched on concepts of animal rights
Animal rights

Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings....
, corporate responsibility, and social justice
Social justice

Social justice, sometimes called civil justice, refers to the concept of a society in which justice is achieved in every aspect of society, rather than merely the administration of law....
. The outcome of these disputes have often resulted in legal agreements that alter the way the company interacts and negotiates contracts with its suppliers and how it does business with the public it serves.

A breach of contract
Breach of contract

Breach of contract is a legal concept in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
 dispute between BK and its Israeli franchise erupted into a geopolitical conflagration involving Muslim
Muslim

:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits "....
 and Jewish groups on multiple continents, with calls for international boycotts from both sides as well as threats from members of the Arab League
Arab League

The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organization of Arab states in Southwest Asia, and North Africa and Horn of Africa....
 to revoke Burger King's business licenses in Islamic countries. A second issue with members of the Islamic faith regarding the interpretation of promotional artwork on a dessert package in the United Kingdom raised issues of cultural sensitivity, and, with the former example, posed a larger question about the lengths which companies must go to insure the smooth operation of their businesses in the communities they serve.

Charitable contributions and services

Burger King has several of its own in-house national charitable organization
Charitable organization

The definition of charitable organization, and of charity, varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates....
s and programs. The first is the Have It Your Way Foundation, a U.S.-based non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation with multiple focuses on hunger alleviation, disease prevention and community education through scholarship programs at colleges in the US. The other charitable organization is the McLamore Foundation, also a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation that provides scholarships to students in the US and its territories. Additionally, there is an optional literacy program that partners individual restaurants with community schools in the US.

In various regions across the United States, Burger King and its franchises have aligned themselves with several charitable organizations that support research and treatment of juvenile cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
. Each year these coalitions hold a fund raising drive called A Chance for Kids, which has the restaurants selling lottery
Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize. Some governments outlaw it, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national lottery....
-style scratch cards for $1. Each card produces a winning prize that is usually a food or beverage product, but includes items such as shopping sprees or trips. In the Northeast
Northeastern United States

The Northeast is a region of the United States. According to the definition used by the United States Census Bureau, the Northeast region consists of nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania....
, BK has affiliated itself with the Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of play in American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between them since 1903 ....
 team the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in . The Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball?s American League East. Since , the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park....
 and its charitable foundation, the Jimmy Fund. The group runs the contest in Boston
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston is the State capital and largest city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is considered the economic and cultural center of the region, and is sometimes regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England." Boston city proper had a 2007 est...
, in the New York city area it operates the contest in association with the Burger King Children's Charities of Metro New York and the New York Yankees
New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball based in the Borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of the American League East of Major League Baseball's American League....
. Funds raised in these areas go to support the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is part of a Comprehensive Cancer Center designated by the National Cancer Institute. It is a major affiliate of Harvard Medical School and is located in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts....
 located in Boston. In Nebraska, the company is affiliated with the program at the UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center
University of Nebraska Medical Center

The is a Medical education in the United States located on 42nd and Emile Street in Omaha, Nebraska, Nebraska. UNMC is one of the largest medical centers in the surrounding area within Nebraska and Iowa and is home to many students from around the state....
 in Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River....
. In the Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania with a population of 312,819. The population of the seven-county metropolitan area is 2,462,571....
 region it funded the establishment of the Burger King Cancer Caring Center, a support organization for the patients, families and friends of cancer patients.

Products


Burger King Whopper
When the company began, its menu consisted predominantly of hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
s, French fries
French fries

French fries , chips , fries, or French-fried potatoes are thin strips of potato that have been deep-frying. A distinction is sometimes made between fries and chips; whereby North Americans sometimes refer to any elongated pieces of fried potatoes as fries, while in the UK, long slices of potatoes are sometimes called '...
, soft drink
Soft drink

A soft drink is a beverage that does not contain alcohol. Carbonated soft drinks are commonly known as soda, soda pop, pop, coke or tonic in various parts of the United States, pop in Canada, fizzy drinks in the United Kingdom and Australia and sometimes minerals in Ireland....
s, and dessert
Dessert

Dessert is a course that typically comes at the end of a meal, usually consisting of sweet food but sometimes of a strongly-flavored one, such as some cheeses....
s. In 1957, BK added its signature item, the Whopper
Whopper

The Whopper sandwich is the signature product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in the global market....
. This quarter pound hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
 was created by Burger King founders James McLamore
James McLamore

James Whitman McLamore was co-founder of the Burger King fast food Franchising with David Edgerton. Both were graduates of Cornell University....
 and David Edgerton
David Edgerton

For the British historian of the same name, see David Edgerton David Edgerton was an American entrepreneur and the founder of the Burger King Corporation....
 as a way to differentiate BK from other burger outlets at the time. The sandwich became famous enough that BK eventually adopted the motto "Home of the Whopper".

One of Donald N. Smith's first changes to the menu was the addition of the Burger King Specialty sandwich line in 1979, which significantly expanded the breadth of the BK menu with many non-hamburger sandwiches including new chicken and fish offerings. The new specialty sandwich line was one of the first attempts to target a specific demographic, in this case adults 18-34, members of which would be willing spend more on a higher quality product. One of Smith's other significant contribution to the menu was the addition of a breakfast product line, which until this time was not a market Burger King had entered. Besides the addition of the Croissan'Wich
Croissan'Wich

A Croissan'Wich is any of several breakfast sandwich sold by the fast-food restaurant chain Burger King....
 in 1983, the breakfast menu remained almost identical to the McDonald's offerings until a menu revamp in 1985. This expansion introduced BK's Am Express product line which added new products such as French toast
French toast

File:FrenchToast.JPGFrench toast is a popular breakfast food in North America, Europe and Brazil.French toast is made with bread and eggs. Milk is commonly added....
 sticks and Mini-muffins
Muffin

A muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting....
.

As the company expanded both inside and outside the US, it introduced localized versions
Globalization

Globalization in its literal sense is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together....
 of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. International variations add ingredients such as teriyaki
Teriyaki

Teriyaki is a cooking technique used in Japanese cuisine in which foods are broiling or grilled in a sweet soy sauce marinade . Teriyaki is served in most modern Japanese cuisines....
 or beetroot and fried egg
Fried egg

The term fried eggs refers to Egg that are frying without breaking the yolk. Fried eggs are typically a breakfast food in English-speaking countries, but may be eaten at other times of the day or not at all in other cultures....
 to the Whopper
Whopper

The Whopper sandwich is the signature product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in the global market....
, beer in Germany, Italy and Spain, and halal
Halal

Halal is an Arabic term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law and custom. It is the opposite of haraam....
 or kosher
Kosher foods

Kosher foods are those that conform to the rules of Jewish religion. These rules form the main aspect of kashrut, Judism dietary laws.Reasons for food being non-kosher include the presence of ingredients derived from non-kosher animals or from kosher animals that were not properly slaughtered, a mixture of meat and milk, wine or grape j...
 products in the middle East and Israel. To generate additional sales, BK will occasionally introduce limited time offers (LTOs) that are versions of its core products or new products intended for either long or short term sales. Items such as the Texas Double Whopper and various sandwiches made with mushrooms and Swiss cheese
Swiss cheese

Swiss cheese is the generic name, in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, for several related varieties of cheese, all of which resemble the Emmental ....
 have been rotated in and out of its menu for several years while products such as its 1993 offering, a Meatloaf
Meatloaf

Meatloaf is a meat dish consisting of seasoning ground meat , which is formed into a loaf shape and baked or smoked. The loaf shape is formed by either cooking it in a Bread pan, or forming it by hand on a flat baking pan....
 Specialty Sandwich
Original Chicken Sandwich

The Original Chicken Sandwich is a chicken sandwich sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. It is the "basic" chicken sandwich sold at Burger King....
 and limited table service
Table service

Table service is a form of service in restaurants, pubs, and bar where food or drinks are served to the customer's table. This is compared with counter service where service is provided at the counter....
 along with special dinner
Dinner

Dinner is the name of the main meal of the day. Depending upon regional locale and tradition, it may be the second or third principle meal of the day....
 platters, failed to generate interest and were discontinued.

In order to appeal to as many demographic groups as possible and better compete with its QSR competitor Wendy's
Wendy's

Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is an international Chain store of fast food restaurants founded by Dave Thomas & John T. Schuessler on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio....
, Burger King added a multi-tiered value menu
Value menu

A value menu is a group of items on a fast food restaurant menu that are, in the US, usually priced in the $1.00 to $1.49 range. In non-U.S. markets, a value menu typically has prices set to reflect the approximate value of one U.S....
 in 1993 with items priced at 99˘, $1.99 and $2.99 (USD). The project called, Operation Phoenix, was an attempt to add not only a value menu but a line of value meal
Value meal

A value meal is a group of menu items at a restaurant offered together at a lower price than they would cost individually. They are common at fast food restaurants....
s. The tiered menu was replaced with a more standard value menu in 1998, while the value meals were separated into their own menu segemnt. This value menu featured seven products: Whopper Jr., 5 piece Chicken Tenders, a bacon cheeseburger, medium sized french fries, medium soft drink, medium onion rings and small shake. In 2002 and 2006, BK revamped its value menu adding and removing several different products such as chili
Chili con carne

Chili con carne is a Spice stew made from chili peppers, meat, garlic, onions, and cumin. Traditional chili is made with chopped or ground beef....
 and its Rodeo Cheeseburger
Rodeo Cheeseburger

The Rodeo Cheeseburger is a cheeseburger sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. It is one of their products targeting the value conscious demographic....
. Many of these items have since been discontinued, modified or relegated to a regional menu option. To better appeal to a more adult palate and demographic, BK introduced several new products to its menu in 2003, including several new or revamped chicken products, a new salad line and its BK Joe brand of coffee. Some of the new products, including its Enormous Omelet Sandwich
Enormous Omelet Sandwich

The Enormous Omelet Sandwich is a breakfast sandwich sold by the fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. It is one of their late teen to young adult male oriented products....
 line and the BK Stacker
BK Stacker

The BK Stacker sandwiches are a family of hamburgers sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. It is one of their late-teen?to?young-adult, male-oriented products....
 line, brought negative attention due the large portion size, amounts of unhealthy fats and trans-fats. Many of these products feature higher quality ingredients like whole chicken breast, Angus beef, natural cheese
Cheese

Cheese is a food consisting of proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cattle, Water Buffalo, goats, or sheep's milk. It is produced by Coagulation of the milk protein casein....
s such as cheddar
Cheddar cheese

Cheddar cheese is a relatively hard, pale-yellow to off-white, and sometimes sharp-tasting cheese originating in the English village of Cheddar, in Somerset....
 and pepper jack. Again, not all these products, such as the BK Baguette line
BK Baguette line

The BK Baguette line is a line of chicken sandwiches and hamburgers sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. All variants are served on a fresh baked baguette bread roll....
, have met corporate sales expectations.

Advertising

Burger King has employed varied advertising programs, both successful and unsuccessful, since its foundation in 1954. During the 1970s, output included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King
The Burger King

The Burger King is a character created as its advertising mascot for the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King who became famous in numerous television commercials, including the Burger King Kingdom....
 and several well known and parodied slogans such as Have it your way and It takes two hands to handle a Whopper. Burger King introduced the first attack ad
Attack ad

In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement whose message is meant as an attack against another candidate or political party. Attack ads often form part of negative campaigning or smear campaigns, and in large or well-financed campaigns, may be disseminated via mass media....
 in the fast food industry with the help of then unknown Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sarah Michelle Prinze, better known by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar, is an United States actor. She is best known for her role as the character Buffy Summers in the acclaimed television program Buffy the Vampire Slayer , for which she won in total six Teen Choice Awards, and the Saturn Award for Best Genre TV Actress and...
 in 1981. The television spot, which claimed BK burgers were larger than competitor McDonald's, so enraged executives at McDonald's parent company, they sued all parties involved. Starting in the early 1980s and running through approximately 2001, BK engaged a series of ad agencies
Advertising agency

An advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services....
 that produced many unsuccessful slogans and programs, including its biggest advertising flop Where's Herb?
Where's Herb?

Where's Herb? was a television commercial campaign for the fast food chain Burger King in 1985 and 1986. The television commercials featured a fictional character named Herb, who was described as never having eaten a Burger King burger in his life....
.

Burger King was a pioneer in the advertising practice known as the product tie-in with a successful partnering with George Lucas
George Lucas

George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an Academy Award-nominated United States film director, film producer, screenwriter and chairman of Lucasfilm Ltd. He is best known for being the creator of the Epic film Sci-Fi franchise Star Wars and the archaeologist-adventurer character Indiana Jones....
' Lucasfilm, Ltd.
Lucasfilm

Lucasfilm Limited is an United States film production company founded by George Lucas in 1971, based in San Francisco, California. Lucas is the company's current chairman, and Micheline Chau is the president and Chief operating officer....
 to promote the 1977 movie Star Wars
Star Wars

Star Wars is an epic film space opera Media franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels....
 film Star Wars
Star Wars

Star Wars is an epic film space opera Media franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, but later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels....
 (later renamed Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope is an Cinema of the United States 1977 in film space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It was the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: Star Wars#Original trilogy continue the story, while a Star Wars#Prequel trilogy contributes backstory, primarily for the troubled charac...
) in which BK sold a set of glasses featuring the main characters from the film. This promotion was one of the first in the fast food
Fast food restaurant

A fast food restaurant, sometimes known as a quick service restaurant or QSR, is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food cuisine and by minimal table service....
 industry and set the pattern that continues to the present. BK's early success in the field was overshadowed by a 1982 deal between McDonald's and the Walt Disney Company to promote Disney's animated films beginning in the mid 1980s and running through the early 1990s. In 1994 Disney switched from McDonald's to Burger King, signing a ten film promotional contract which would include such top ten films as Aladdin
Aladdin (1992 film)

Aladdin is a Animation produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, and released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 25, 1992. The thirty-first animated feature in the List of Disney theatrical animated features, the film is based on the Arab folktale of Aladdin from One Thousand and One Nights....
 (1992), Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 Cinema of the United States animated cartoon family film. It is the thirtieth List of Disney animated features produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation....
 (1991), The Lion King
The Lion King

The Lion King is a American Animation film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation, released in theaters on June 15, 1994 by Walt Disney Pictures....
 (1994) and Toy Story
Toy Story

Toy Story is a 1995 in film Cinema of the United States computer animation family film, directed by John Lasseter and starring Tom Hanks and Tim Allen....
 (1995). A partnership in association with the Pokémon
Pokémon

is a media franchise owned by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri around 1995. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy line Console role-playing game video games, Pok?mon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo's own...
 franchise at the height of its popularity in 1999 was one of the most successful in the industry, rivaled only by McDonald's/Ty Beanie Babies cross-promotion in 1999–2000.

Shortly after the acquisition of Burger King by TPG Capital, L.P. in 2002, its newly hired CEO Bradley (Brad) Blum
Brad Blum

Brad Blum was the CEO of Burger King from December 2002 to July 2, 2004. He joined from Darden Restaurants where he had headed the Olive Garden unit, but left after only 18 months citing strategic differences with Burger King's board....
 set about turning around fortunes of the company by initiating an overhaul its flailing advertising programs. One of the first moves by the company was to reinstate its famous Have it your way slogan as the corporate motto. BK handed the effort off to its new advertising agency, Miami-based Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Crispin Porter + Bogusky

Crispin Porter + Bogusky, a member of publicly-traded MDC Partners , is an advertising agency that currently employs around 700 people.The agency is headquartered in Miami, Florida, with a growing "co-headquarters" in Boulder, Colorado and additional offices in Santa Monica and London....
 (abbreviated as CP+B). CP+B was known for having a hip, subversive tack when creating campaigns for its clients, exactly what BK was looking for. One of CP+B strategies was to revive the Burger King character used during BKs 1970s/1980s Burger King Kingdom
Burger King Kingdom

The Burger King Kingdom was the name of Burger King's answer to McDonaldland during the mid-1970s. In the late-1980s, the Burger King Kingdom characters were largely phased out....
 children's advertising campaign as a caricature
Caricature

A caricature is either a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness, or in literature, a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others....
d variation now simply called "the King". The farcical nature of the Burger King centered advertisements inspired an internet meme
Internet meme

The term Internet meme is a neologism used to describe a catchphrase or concept that spreads quickly from person to person via the Internet, much like an inside joke....
 where the King is photoshopped
Photo manipulation

Photo manipulation is the application of techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception , through analog or digital means....
 into unusual situations that are either comical or menacing, many times followed with the phrase Where is your God now?.

Additionally, CP+B created a series new characters like the Subservient Chicken
The Subservient Chicken

The Subservient Chicken is an advertising program created to promote international fast food restaurant chain store Burger King's TenderCrisp chicken sandwich and their "Have it Your Way" campaign....
 and the faux nu metal
Nu metal

Nu metal is a sub-genre of Heavy metal music that emerged in the mid-1990s which combines grunge music, alternative rock, and alternative metal with hip hop music and various list of heavy metal genres, such as funk metal, rap metal, groove metal and thrash metal....
 band Coq Roq
Coq Roq

Coq Roq, also spelled COQ ROQ, and pronounced "Cock Rock", is an advertising program created to promote international fast food restaurant chain store Burger King's chicken product, BK Chicken Fries....
 featured in a series of viral
Viral marketing

Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives through self-replicating Viral phenomenon processes, analogous to the spread of virus and computer viruses....
 web-based advertisements on sites such as MySpace
MySpace

MySpace is a social network service website with an interactive, user-submitted network of friends, personal profiles, blogs, groups, photos, music, and videos for teenagers and adults internationally....
 and various BK corporate pages to compliment the various television and print promotional campaigns. One of the more unique promotions that CP+B devised was the creation of a series of three advergames
Advergaming

Advergaming is the practice of using video games to advertise a product, organization or viewpoint. The term "advergames" was coined in January 2000 by Anthony Giallourakis, and later mentioned by Wired 's "Jargon Watch" column in 2001....
 for the Xbox 360
Xbox 360

The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the History of video game consoles of video game consoles....
. Featuring company celebrity spokesman
Spokesman

A spokesman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others.The term spokesperson, invented to replace the conventional spokesman, is a typical example of a Gender-neutral language in English neologism....
 Brooke Burke
Brooke Burke

Brooke Lisa Burke is an American television personality, Model , and occasional dancer known for hosting Wild On! and Rock Star and for winning the Dancing with the Stars of Dancing with the Stars ....
, the games sold more than 2 million copies, placing them as one of the top selling games along with another Xbox 360 hit, Gears of War
Gears of War

'Gears of War' is a third-person shooter video game, developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was initially released as an exclusive title for the Xbox 360 in November 2006 in North America, Australia, and most of Europe, and included a "Limited Collector's Edition" with added content and an art book titled Dest...
. These innovative ad campaigns, coupled with other new promotions and a series of new product
Burger King products

When the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King first opened in Miami, Florida in 1954, its menu consisted predominantly of hamburgers, french fries, soft drinks, milkshakes and desserts....
 introductions, drew considerable positive and negative attention to BK and helped TPG and its partners realize about $367 million in dividends.

Logos


Evolution of the company logo


The first logo that Burger King used is identified simply as the Sitting King logo; the first version of the Burger King
The Burger King

The Burger King is a character created as its advertising mascot for the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King who became famous in numerous television commercials, including the Burger King Kingdom....
 character is shown sitting atop the of the sign holding a beverage. The sign has several versions, with the King either sitting atop a hamburger or on an inverted trapezoid
Trapezoid

In geometry, a trapezoid or trapezium is a quadrilateral with twoparallel sides. The term “trapezoid” is used in North America, while the term “trapezium” is prevalent in Britain....
 with the company name along the top and its motto Home of the Whopper below it; some signs did not include the King and only had the inverted trapezoid. This logo was used in one form or another until 1969 when the famous Burger King "bun halves" logo made its debut, and has continued in one form or another until the current day. As implied by its name, the logo is meant to resemble a hamburger
Hamburger

A hamburger consists of a cooked ground meat patty, usually beef, placed in a sliced bun or between pieces of bread or toast. Hamburgers are often served with various condiments, such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, relish etc....
; the logo had two orange semi-circular "buns" surrounding the name, which was the "meat" of the logo. In 1994 BK updated the logo with a graphical tightening, replacing the aging "bulging" font with a smoother font with rounded edges. In addition, all secondary signing, such as roof and directional signs, was also updated with new rounded font.

In 1999, BK again revised its logo. The new Burger King logo is a stylized version of the original "bun halves" logo. BK changed the color of the restaurant's name from red to burgundy, while leaving them sandwiched between two yellow bun halves. The new logo also tilts the bun halves and the font
Font

In typography, a font is traditionally defined as a complete character set of a single size and style of a particular typeface. For example, the set of all characters for 9-point Bulmer italic type is a font, and the 10-point size would be a separate font, as would the 9 point upright....
 on an axis, has a smaller "bun" motif and wraps the burger with a blue crescent whipping around the buns giving it a more circular
Circular

Circular may refer to:*Circle, or something in the shape of a circle*Flyer , a single page leaflet advertising a nightclub, event, service, or other activity...
 appearance. Most restaurants did not acquire newer signs with the new logo, menus, and drive-thru ordering speakers until 2001. Again all secondary signage was updated with the new logo and sharp type face, and all sign posts were repainted to match the blue coloring of the new crescent from their original black.

International variations


The Hungry Jack's logo is based on the Burger King "bun halves" design. HJ currently uses a variation of the second generation "bun halves" logo, featuring the smoother font used in the Burger King logo from 1994. Currently, the only region that BK uses a non-Latin text logo is in the Middle East. In those Arabic speaking countries the logo is mirrored and uses Arabic characters; otherwise the logo is identical to the "blue crescent" logo used in the west.

International operations



Burger King has a longstanding presence at U.S. Army
United States Army

The United States Army is the branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for Army operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S....
 and U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
 installations worldwide, dating back to the 1980s under a contract with Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Army and Air Force Exchange Service

The Army & Air Force Exchange Service is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Its dual missions are to provide quality merchandise and services of necessity and convenience to authorized customers at uniformly low prices, and to generate reasonable earnings to supplement appropriated funds for the support of United States Ar...
. Today, while other chains such as Taco Bell
Taco Bell

Taco Bell is a chain restaurant based in Irvine, California, specializing in Mexican-inspired fast food. It is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands. Most restaurants are located in North America, but there are also many in other countries....
, Popeye's and Subway
Subway (restaurant)

Subway Restaurants, commonly known as Subway, is a restaurant franchising that primarily sells Hoagies and salads. It is owned by Doctor's Associates, Inc. ....
 have a presence on military bases, virtually every major Army and Air Force installation hosts a BK restaurant.

Countries currently with Burger King locations: - AAFES - known as Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's

Hungry Jack's is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. Its parent company is Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin....
- Reentered March 2008


- AAFES*


(later in 2009) (Franchised by Ibersol Group) (???? ????)**


Countries formerly with Burger King restaurants: - Burger King branded restaurants operated 1997–2003 violating franchise agreements, sold and rebranded to Australian Burger King franchise Hungry Jack's
Hungry Jack's

Hungry Jack's is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. Its parent company is Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin....
 following legal action - Burger King operated in Helsinki
Helsinki

Helsinki is the Capital and largest List of cities and towns in Finland of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea....
 for a short period in 1980s - Burger King decided to leave France in 1997 and closed their 39 French outlets in 1998 - Burger King operated in Greece for a short period in the early 1990s - Burger King left both St. Croix and St. Thomas in 1997 - Burger King operated in Kiev
Kiev

Kiev, also known as Kyiv , is the Capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River....
 for a short period in 2006. - Burger King decided to leave Oman
Oman

Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
 in 2001 (Returning back by early 2009)

See also

Other hamburger QSR vendors:
  • Carl's Jr.
    Carl's Jr.

    Carl's Jr. is an United States fast-food restaurant chain store, located mostly in the Western United States and West Coast of the United States regions....
  • Carrols
  • Checkers (fast food)
  • Hardee's
    Hardee's

    Hardee's is a restaurant chain, located mostly in the Midwest United States and Southeast regions. It has evolved through several corporate ownerships since being established in 1960....
  • Jack in the Box
    Jack in the Box

    | company_slogan = We don't make it, 'till you order it.| foundation = May 29, 1951 | location = San Diego, CA| key_people = Linda Lang, CEO & ChairwomanRobert Oscar Peterson, founderJack , Fictional CEO|...
  • McDonald's
    McDonald's

    McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts....
     (largest competitor)
  • Sonic
    Sonic Drive-In

    Sonic Corporation is an United States fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, that recreates the drive-in diner feel of the 1950s, complete with carhops who sometimes wear roller skates....
  • Wimpy
    Wimpy (brand)

    Wimpy is the brand name of a chain of hamburger restaurants based in the United Kingdom. The restaurants were originally called Wimpy Bars and many people still refer to them by this name, despite the fact that the name ?Wimpy Bar? was dropped in favour of ?Wimpy? many years ago....
  • Max
    Max Hamburgers

    Max Hamburgerrestauranger AB is a fast food corporation which was founded by Curt Bergfors in G?llivare, Sweden in 1968. Bergfors' oldest son Richard Bergfors is the current president since 2002....
  • Wendy's
    Wendy's

    Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers is an international Chain store of fast food restaurants founded by Dave Thomas & John T. Schuessler on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio....
     (nearest competitor)


Franchisees
  • Carrols Corporation
    Carrols Corporation

    Carrols Restaurant Group is a fast-food restaurant operator. It is the largest Burger King franchisee in the world; Carrols owns and operates about 330 Burger King locations across 12 U.S....
  • Hungry Jack's
    Hungry Jack's

    Hungry Jack's is the exclusive Australian master fast food franchisee of Burger King Corporation. Its parent company is Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Competitive Foods Australia, a privately held company owned by Jack Cowin....


External links


Other sites

  • at Yahoo! Finance
  • at Hoovers.com