BESTIES WITH

Hey Marketing Bestie,

Us marketers sure can learn a lot from our Marketing fore-fathers and fore-mothers. 

The greatest marketing campaigns in history deserve to be etched in stone your for you page.

Welcome to Marketing Classics 411, a new kind of ancient history. 

In place of hieroglyphs, expect to decipher the greatest jingle of, dare I say it, ALL TIME.

I'm excited for you to meat today's brand. Class is now in session. 

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BURGER KING

Over the last 4 months, one brand has been TAKING over the world.

This brand is not a new kid on the block. They’re a veteran, looking for a Royal Reset.

Known for a jingle that goes something like, Whopper Whopper Whopper Whopper!

Yes, today’s lesson is ALL about Burger King’s in-your face “Reclaim to Flame” campaign you’ve been hearing in your dreams.

(I know you’re still singing the jingle in your head - LOL.)

Coke vs. Pepsi, Microsoft vs. Apple, and McDonald’s vs. Burger King. Competition brings out the best in brands. 

For as long as a millennial can remember, McDonald’s and Burger King have been dominating United States Burger sales.

Two American staples going blow for blow year in and year out.

But that bitter rivalry was interrupted in 2020, by a resilient Wendy’s who climbed to 2nd place in Burger Sales, knocking Burger King off the podium.

Burger King was in the midst of a four-year decline in sales and losing track of its identity.

So what did they do??

They partnered with LEGENDARY Chicago Advertising Agency, OKRP, to take the brand back to 1970. 

Well, kinda.

Being knocked down to the 3rd spot in the Burger Wars lit a FLAME inside of Burger King. And they realized they needed a REVAMP.

So Burger King set out to “Reclaim their Flame."

Backed by the full support of franchisees, Burger King will invest $150MM in rebuilding their brand in consumer’s eyes over the next 9 quarters. 

AKA, they have a $150MM marketing budget for the next 2 years. INSANE.

The majority of this marketing spend is focused on “refreshing” and “modernizing” the brand. 

With the first step being, taking the Whopper off the value menu and positioning it as a differentiator for the brand. 

Hence why their new jingle shouts, WHOPPER WHOPPER WHOP - okay I’ll stop.

In the 1970s, Burger King introduced a fully customizable experience with their Whopper.

Don’t want onions? Ask for no onions. Want extra lettuce? Ask for extra lettuce.

(Don't know who would want extra lettuce, but whatever floats your boat Bestie.)

Burger King beat McDonald’s to the punch and emphasized that you could “Have it Your Way.”

Now in 2023, Burger King is heading back to that historical brand anchor to let their customers know it all starts with them.

When you come to BK, have it your way.

A throwback campaign is great and all, but consumers aren’t the same as they were in the 1970s. 

In 2023, there’s TikTok. 

If used right, TikTok can be like adding gasoline to the fire for your marketing campaigns. And that’s exactly what it’s been like for Burger King.

Aimed at attracting a younger, more diverse customer base, BK’s jingle is heard OFTEN during NFL broadcasts and on your FYP.

Being that 22 of the top 25 most-watched TV programs last year were NFL games and TikTok has over 1 BILLION users, BK knew where and who to target.

But what’s the science behind the success?

According to Michael Johnson, a University of the Arts professor, for a song to become an “earworm” — a catchy song you can’t get out of your head — it needs “simplicity, repetition and in the case of jingles, a dash of absurdity.”

BK’s jingle has ALL 3, with an EMPHASIS on absurdity.

Then TikTok came into play. 

Users began to realize the outrageousness of BK’s - WHOPPER WHOPPER - that the song morphed into its own shareable TikTok audio clip.

As a result #burgerking and #whopper have a combined 6 BILLION views on TikTok. 

On top of that, #whopper has been trending on Twitter since the start of the NFL Playoffs. HUGE.

With users anticipating a bombshell of a Super Bowl Ad from Burger King and BK themselves chiming in on the fun; us Marketers are being shown how to turn a campaign into a cultural MOVEMENT.

The only question to ask is, does it come with pickles? what’s BK going to do next??!

MARKETING CHEAT MEAL (WHAT TO LEARN FROM THIS CAMPAIGN)

1. Anchored. Burger King turned back the clock and leaned heavily on their brand anchors, "Flame-Grilled" and "Have it Your Way." The original value props that differentiated BK from McDonald's are being used for the same purpose, some 50 years later.
2. Jingle all the way. An effective brand jingle has massive impacts on brand recall and user engagement with ads. Burger King perfected the simplicity, repetition, and absurdity needed for a jingle to POP.
3. Viral sensation. With the help of a catchy jingle and an omnichannel campaign, #burgerking has 5.5 BILLION views on TikTok. 

IN A MEME

Ahh, the bell has rung. Please be sure to do the reading (follow The Marketing Millennials on LinkedIn and me, Professor Millennial, on Twitter).

Off you go, passing period is only 11 minutes and there’s already a line at the Burger King drive thru.

Until next time,

Professor Millennial

Written by your bestie, Daniel Murray.

 Twitter & LinkedIn.

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