The Biggest Flops In Burger King History

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Despite the millions of Whoppers sold each and every year, not every item introduced by Burger King has proven to be a hit. In fact, some have been spectacular failures. These are the biggest flops in Burger King history. In 2015, Burger King executives decided to celebrate Halloween by introducing a spooky new spin on their classic Whopper: the Halloween Whopper, which boasted a horrifying dyed-black bun. But that wasn't all, customers who tried the novelty burger got quite the surprise when they hit the bathroom and discovered an unexpected side effect: it had turned their bowel movements green. As reports of green poop flooded social media, the burger became less known for its Halloween theme than it did for its colorful after-effects. The question people began to ask was why a black bun would turn excrement green and not black? Gastroenterologist Dr. Ian Lustbader offered an explanation, telling CBS News that the blame laid with the food coloring used to turn the bun black. Food coloring that isn't entirely absorbed by food material in the gut will pass through the digestive tract. Because Burger King already adds dyes to its regular buns, those existing dyes combined with the new black dye, and then mixed with the stomach's yellow-green bile, resulting in the now-legendary green poop. Due to the understandable negative buzz around this whole affair, Burger King declined to scare up the Halloween Whopper the following year. Can you blame them? Never ones to miss an opportunity to snag a share of the market, Burger King took a page out of Taco Bell's book in 2016, when it introduced the Whopperito. This new menu item contained all the stuff crammed into a traditional Whopper, but instead of a bun, the whole thing was wrapped up in a tortilla. The other big change was that the usual ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise condiments were substituted with cheesy queso sauce. Was it a good idea? Well, no. Certainly not according to Newsweek, which viciously lambasted the Whopperito as being, in their words, "as disgusting as it looks." At the time, however, Burger King North America president Alex Macedo thought they were really onto something. He told Business Insider: "We know Tex-Mex is growing a lot...and there are not that many national chains that sell burritos. For us, a burrito works well because we get a vast majority of our sales through the drive-thru, and this is something that's portable." Sadly, Burger King's attempt to please both burger fans and burrito fans ended up pleasing neither, and the company ultimately bid adios to the Whopperito. "I want 30 sliders, five french fries and four large cherry cokes." "I want the same except make mine diet cokes." In the 1980s, Burger King had apparently grown envious of the success that White Castle had been experiencing with its mini-sized burgers, and saw an opportunity to grab a piece of the action. The result was Burger Bundles, which were basically a Burger King take on sliders, and were marketed by the company as the perfect grab-and-go snack for eating on the run. Unfortunately, when it came to broiling the small burgers, there was one little problem, the patties were so small they had a tendency to slip through the broiler grates and were constantly getting ruined. The teeny little burgers were later discontinued, leaving White Castle as the true kings of undersized burgers. Burger King's Burger Bundles may have died off, but the idea for tiny hamburgers didn't. That became apparent in 2008 when the chain introduced BK Burger Shots, which were identical to their predecessors in every way other than one: the buns were attached to each other, resulting in small conjoined hamburgers, kind of like the bundles, but even more bundled. Burger Shots were billed as a "limited-time offer" in certain US locations as a test. The move reportedly came after Burger King successfully launched the same product in restaurants throughout the United Arab Emirates, called Burger Buddies, which were sold in packs of six. But Burger Shots didn't last long. The main reason for the product's failure was likely the bizarre advertising campaign used to sell them. One commercial in particular was creepy, bordering on outright disturbing. "Don't go to bed before the king." Doesn't exactly make you hungry, does it? In 1992, Burger King executives had the notion that classing up the joint would be a surefire way to bring in more customers. As a result, the chain began offering table service at its restaurants each day between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., with servers bringing meals right to the table…at a slower pace than usual. There was, however, a hidden agenda lurking behind Burger King's table service: Dinner Baskets. These all-in-one meals were served in baskets, came in a handful of varieties, and offered the option to substitute a baked potato for fries along with coleslaw or a side salad. Burger King spokesman Michael Evans said at the time: "With the table service and new dinner entrees, we are reaching out to a consumer segment that may not have before come to a fast-food restaurant." Unsurprisingly, neither Dinner Baskets nor table service were widely embraced by customers, who tended to go to fast food restaurants for, well, fast food. They didn't last long. Yes, the Super Seven Incher is called that on purpose, and yes, Burger King really was trying to make the joke you're thinking of. Released in 2009, the burger's name was a painfully obvious double entendre, and the ad campaign really ran with it, featuring…well, this. And if anyone still didn't get the reference, the fine print made it even more blatant, referencing a "mind-blowing burger" that promised to, quote, "fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame grilled." The backlash was severe, leading Burger King to shelve the ad and quietly banish the Super Seven Incher from its menus. But that wasn't the end of it. The controversy resurfaced several years later, when the model in the ad said she was unaware that the photos she were posing for would be used in such a suggestive manner and accused the company of publicly humiliating her. Real Meals were introduced in 2019 to coincide with Mental Health Awareness Month, with each boxed-up Burger King combo representing a different mood. Feeling salty? Burger King had the meal to match the mood. And the commercials were pretty brutal. "My boss is such a freaking creep. I just told him to go f--- himself." As anyone might have expected, Real Meals were utterly eviscerated online, with most social media users feeling less "salty" or "depressed" and more "scathing" and "sarcastic." One tweeter even congratulated Burger King for ending mental illness the same way Kendall Jenner and Pepsi ended racism, referencing another disastrous ad campaign that had occurred a few years earlier. Another wrote: "Just punched a hole in my wall thinking about all the money I could have saved last year by just having Burger King instead of having to go to the psychiatric hospital." In 2013, healthy eating was top of mind for many consumers, which wasn't all that great for fast-food retailers. Sensing an untapped market for low-fat alternatives to fast food classics, however, Burger King introduced Satisfries. Billed as containing 40 percent less fat and 30 percent fewer calories than ordinary fries, the chain likely saw Satisfries as an opportunity to entice health-conscious consumers into sampling a guilt-free French fry. A seemingly solid strategy? Sure. But in practice, not so much. Satisfries bombed big time. Bob Goldin, executive vice president at Chicago-based researcher Technomic Inc., hit the nail on the head when he explained why the product was doomed from the get-go. Healthy menu items at fast-food restaurants, he explained, target a very narrow audience, illustrating an important truism: people consumed with health will rarely eat fast food, and people who eat fast food are clearly not over-concerned with their health. He said: "French fries are an indulgence, just like ice cream. You don't eat them if you're worried about your diet." By the mid-2000s, the world of breakfast was a fast-food battleground. McDonald's had long held a solid head start with their iconic Egg McMuffins when Burger King came up with a breakfast sandwich that they hoped would dethrone it once and for all. This product was the Enormous Omelet Sandwich, which boasted a two-egg omelet topped with two slices of American cheese, a sausage patty and three thick strips of bacon, piled high on a hoagie-style bun. Unfortunately, those who dug into the sandwich's nutritional information came away with a few not-so-fun facts. Besides containing more calories than the Whopper, the Enormous Omelet Sandwich also played host a whopping 47 grams of fat. At the time, Burger King's chief global marketing officer said: "By expanding our indulgent breakfast sandwich menu, Burger King restaurants now offer even more alternatives for our guests who want a convenient and filling breakfast." Fast food consumers do clearly love a hearty breakfast, but apparently drew the line at a sandwich that should have been sold with a defibrillator on the side. The BK Enormous Omelet was discontinued, and never heard from again. Hot dogs and hamburgers have gone hand-in-hand at backyard barbecues for decades, so why shouldn't that also be the case at Burger King? The fast-food chain decided to find out in 2016 by launching Grilled Dogs. These dogs were available in a standard variety as well as a chili cheese version. Burger King North America president Alex Macedo said at the time: "The introduction of Grilled Dogs just made sense to our guests and for our brand." Burger King was apparently quite bullish on marketing its dogs, too. In fact, the chain hired rapper Snoop Dogg and Spanish-American singer Charo to star in a number of humorous ads meant to look like training videos, that instructed staff in the proper preparation of the dogs. Snoop in particular was billed as a "Grilled Dogs Training Ambassador," who instructs trainees how to top the restaurant's wieners. "You can top this dog with ketchup, mustard, your relishes - you know relishes ain't nothing but chopped up pickles." People like burgers. People like pizza. So you'd assume that combining the two would be a home run. And that was clearly the thinking that resulted in the Pizza Burger. This new Burger King product was launched as a special offering at the chain's locations in New York. In truth, the item was more burger than pizza, being essentially a giant hamburger with pizza-style toppings including pepperoni, mozzarella cheese, pesto, and marinara sauce, all crammed into a nine-and-a-half-inch sesame seed bun. The super-sized burger was then cut into sections and shared like a pizza, designed to feed six. The New York Pizza Burger was the creation of Burger King's head chef James Sullivan, who described the monstrous meal as a "fast food translation of the locavore movement," which aims to connect food producers and food consumers in the same geographic locale. But Burger King's New York Pizza Burger was not for the weak of heart, literally. All in all, it clocked in at an artery-clogging 2,500 calories. In 2002, Burger King decided to shake things up with their Shake 'Em Up Fries. The concept was pretty basic: the chain's regular fries were served in a bag, along with a "Cheezy Flavor Blast" packet that was meant to be sprinkled inside. Customers would simply seal up the bag, give the fries a vigorous shaking to coat the fries and then chow down. A commercial for the new product demonstrated the shaking technique, featuring an array of youngsters agitating their fry-filled bags and then eating the bright-orange potato sticks that emerged. Sadly, Shake 'Em Up Fries didn't make as much of an impact on the marketplace as Burger King had hoped, and were eventually discontinued. Despite the product's failure, however, McDonald's were reportedly developing a similar flavored french fry in 2014. McDonald's tested its seasoned fries in a California location, which looked a heck of a lot like Burger King's version. In fact, the product wasn't even just similar, it was pretty much the exact same process. Fries go in a bag, customer adds seasoning, then shakes and eats. That test was presumably unsuccessful, as the product was never rolled out nationally. Maybe this one just isn't a good idea. Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite fast food chains are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.
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Channel: Mashed
Views: 2,513,488
Rating: 4.7731957 out of 5
Keywords: mashed, mashed food, burger king, burgers, hamburgers, fast food, burger king flops, burger king fails, burger king worst, burger king menu, whopper, halloween whopper, whopperito, burger king burrito, bk, burger bundles, burger shots, burger king sliders, burger king dinner basket, burger king meal, burger king super seven incher, burger king real meals, burger king ads, burger king satisfries, burger king omelette sandwich, burger king hot dog, burger king fries
Id: G1HVVZD-kOM
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 12min 25sec (745 seconds)
Published: Sat May 02 2020
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