Denny's ambushes Burger King with hybrid burger offer after McDonald’s snub
Denny’s has landed Burger King in-between a rock and a hard place after capturing the brand in a bold hamburger hybrid PR trap of its own making by requesting the brands collaborate on a new deluxe patty.
The move follows Burger King earlier this week publishing an ad in prominent US papers looking to launch McDonald’s for a partnership which would have resulted in the McWhopper Burger for World Peace Day.
The partnership would have birthed the exclusive McWhopper, a fastfood fusion of the Big Mac and the Whopper, had McDonald’s chief executive, Steve Easterbrook, not attempted to take the high ground by instead calling for the brands to collaborate to in a “meaningful global effort”.
Following on from the PR stunt, dubbed a “dog’s dinner” by publicist Mark Borkowski in The Drum, fast food rival Denny’s, also an established heavyweight in the US burger market, tweeted the following challenge to Burger King, giving it a taste of its own medicine.
hey @burgerking how about a Slampper© or a Whammper© or a Whoppaslamus-rex© or something? pic.twitter.com/zWHXfgIPYV
— Denny's (@DennysDiner) August 27, 2015
Burger King has yet to respond to the challenge – indeed its main Twitter account has remained quiet ever since Denny’s sprung the trap.
On the day of the original stunt, Burger King was mentioned in 42 per cent more social media conversations than rival McDonald's - indicating it at least benefited from the exposure.
Denny's may well emulate the goodwill generated in the original offer yet.