BK Tee Vee

Last updated

BK Tee Vee
BK Tee Vee logo.png
The BK Tee Vee logo
AgencyD'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles
ClientBurger King
Product
  • BK Dinner Baskets
  • Value menu
  • Product tie-in
Release date(s)1991-1993
Slogan
  • I love this Place!
  • Your Way, Right Away
Starring
  • Dan Cortese
  • Kid 'n Play
  • Bob Uecker

BK Tee Vee was Burger King's MTV-inspired advertising campaign from 1991 to 1993. [1]

Contents

History

The campaign was created by the New York based agency D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles. The original advertisements were used to promote the Burger King Every Day Value Menu and BK Dinner Baskets. The advertising program was designed as part of a back to basics plan by Burger King after a series of disappointing advertising schemes, including the failure of its 1980s Where's Herb? campaign. One of the main parts of the plan was to introduce a value menu in response to McDonald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's. [2]

Many of the advertisements featured Dan Cortese as Dan the Whopper Man, while others used clips from the rap musicians Kid 'n Play's film House Party . The cross-promotion of the Disney film Aladdin was also advertised under this promotion, as well as Last Action Hero . The last commercials using this campaign were to promote The Nightmare Before Christmas .

The advertisement program was also used in the German market to promote a sandwich called the Big Tex.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King</span> Global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in Florida

Burger King Corporation is an American multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant chain. After Insta-Burger King ran into financial difficulties, its two Miami-based franchisees David Edgerton (1927–2018) and James McLamore (1926–1996) purchased the company in 1959 and renamed it "Burger King". Over the next half-century, the company changed hands four times and its third set of owners, a partnership of TPG Capital, Bain Capital, and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, took it public in 2002. In late 2010, 3G Capital of Brazil acquired a majority stake in the company, in a deal valued at US$3.26 billion. The new owners promptly initiated a restructuring of the company to reverse its fortunes. 3G, along with partner Berkshire Hathaway, eventually merged the company with the Canadian-based doughnut chain Tim Hortons, under the auspices of a new Canadian-based parent company named Restaurant Brands International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whopper</span> Hamburger sold at Burger King and Hungry Jacks

The Whopper is the signature hamburger and an associated product line sold by the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's. Introduced in 1957, the hamburger has undergone several reformulations, including changes to portion size and bread used. The hamburger is well known in the fast food industry, with Burger King advertising itself as "the Home of the Whopper" and naming its kiosk stores the BK Whopper Bar. In response to the Whopper, Burger King's competitors have developed similar products designed to compete against it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TenderCrisp</span> Chicken sandwich sold by Burger King

The TenderCrisp is a chicken sandwich sold by international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchisee, Hungry Jack's. It is one of their "indulgent" products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Burger King</span> Mascot of American food chain Burger King

The Burger King is a king character used as the primary mascot for the fast-food restaurant chain of the same name. The first iteration of the Burger King was part of a sign at the first Burger King restaurant in Miami, Florida, in 1955. Later signs showed the King sitting on a "burger throne" as well as atop the BK sign while holding a beverage. In the early 1970s, Burger King started using a small and animated version of the King in its children's advertising, voiced by Allen Swift. In 1976, the original animated King was replaced by the "Marvelous Magical Burger King" which was a red-bearded and Tudor-era king who ruled the Burger King Kingdom and performed magic tricks that were mostly sleight-of-hand but sometimes relied on camera tricks or involved his "Magic Ring" which could summon copious amounts of food. The Burger King Kingdom advertisements were discontinued in the late 1980s in favor of the BK Kids Club Gang and other advertising programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugoff</span> 2004 Burger King advertising campaign

Ugoff is a fictional character, played by actor Daniel Raymont, in a 2004 ad campaign for Burger King directed by Roman Coppola with music composed by Devo singer Mark Mothersbaugh. It was to promote the new "Fire-Grilled Salads" and the paper "Salad Pouch", which was used to keep the chicken and shrimp warm for the salad entrées. It was created by the Miami advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big King</span> Hamburger sold by Burger King

The Big King sandwich is one of the major hamburger products sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King, and was part of its menu for more than twenty years. As of March 2019, it is sold in the United States under its 1997 Big King XL formulation. During its testing phase in 1996–1997, it was originally called the Double Supreme and was configured similarly to the McDonald's Big Mac—including a three-piece roll. It was later reformulated as a more standard double burger during the latter part of product testing in 1997. It was given its current name when the product was formally introduced in September 1997, but maintained the more conventional double cheeseburger format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BK Chicken Fries</span> Fried chicken product sold by Burger King

BK Chicken Fries are a fried chicken product sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. At the time of their introduction in 2005, the company had intended Chicken Fries to be one of their larger, adult-oriented products made with higher-quality ingredients than their standard menu items. Additionally, the product further targeted the snacking and convenience food markets with a specific packaging design that was intended to be easier to handle and fit into automotive cup holders. The product was part of a series of product introductions designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated fare and present a larger, meatier product that appealed to 24- to 36-year-old males. Along with this series of larger, more complex menu products, the company intended to attract a larger, more affluent adult audience who would be willing to spend more on the better-quality products. They were discontinued in the United States in 2012, but continued to be sold in some markets, such as Italy. In August 2014, they were reintroduced for a limited-time offering (LTO) in North America, leading to their permanent re-addition to the menu in March 2015 in over 30 countries globally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King Specialty Sandwiches</span> Line of sandwiches developed by Burger King in 1978

The Burger King Specialty Sandwiches are a line of sandwiches developed by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King in 1978 and introduced in 1979 as part of a new product line designed to expand Burger King's menu with more sophisticated, adult oriented fare beyond hamburgers. Additionally, the new line was intended to differentiate the company from other fast food hamburger restaurants at the time. Since the line's introduction, the other sandwiches have been discontinued, leaving the chicken offering, the Original Chicken Sandwich, as the primary product left. Additionally, other sandwiches that utilize the same roll as the chicken sandwich have been introduced to the company's menu both domestically and internationally since the original product line was introduced.

Since it was founded in 1954, international fast food chain Burger King has employed many advertising programs. During the 1970s, its advertisements included a memorable jingle, the inspiration for its current mascot the Burger King and several well-known and parodied slogans, such as Have it your way and It takes two hands to handle a Whopper. From the early 1980s until approximately 2002, Burger King engaged a series of advertising agencies that produced many unsuccessful slogans and programs, including its least successful campaign, Where's Herb?.

As far back as the 1970s, international fast food restaurant chain Burger King has attempted to introduce a premium line of burgers. These sandwiches are part of a system which eventually became known as the barbell strategy; a plan designed to expand Burger King's menu with both more sophisticated, adult-oriented fare along with products that are more value-oriented. This program is intended to bring in a larger, more affluent adult audience who will be willing to spend more on the better quality products on one side while maintaining a lower cost value menu dedicated to a more cost-conscious audience on the other. The hope is that the customers would be drawn in initially for the lower prices of the value-menu and upgrade to the more expensive products, upping overall sales.

The predecessor to what is now the international fast food restaurant chain Burger King was founded on July 23, 1953, in Jacksonville, Florida, as Instant Burger King. Inspired by the McDonald brothers' original store location in San Bernardino, California, the founders and owners, Keith J. Cramer and his stepfather Matthew Burns, began searching for a concept. After purchasing the rights to two pieces of equipment called "Insta" machines, the two opened their first stores around a cooking device known as the Insta-Broiler. The Insta-Broiler oven proved so successful at cooking burgers, they required all of their franchises to carry the device. After the original company began to falter in 1959, it was purchased by its Miami, Florida, franchisees James McLamore and David R. Edgerton. The two initiated a corporate restructuring of the chain; the first step being to rename the company, Burger King. The duo ran the company as an independent entity for eight years, eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States, when they sold it to the Pillsbury Company in 1967.

When the predecessor of international fast food restaurant chain Burger King (BK) first opened in 1953, its menu predominantly consisted of hamburgers, French fries, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts. After being acquired by its Miami, Florida franchisees and renamed in 1954, BK began expanding its menu by adding the Whopper sandwich in 1957, and has since added non-beef items such as chicken, fish, and vegetarian offerings, including salads and meatless sandwiches. Other additions include a breakfast menu and beverages such as Icees, juices, and bottled waters. As the company expanded both inside and outside the United States, it introduced localized versions of its products that conform to regional tastes and cultural or religious beliefs. To generate additional sales, BK occasionally introduces limited-time offers of special versions of its products, or brings out completely new products intended for either long- or short-term sales. Not all of these products and services have been successful; in 1992, Burger King introduced limited table service featuring special dinner platters, but this concept failed to generate interest and was discontinued.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where's Herb?</span> 1985 advertising campaign for Burger King

Where's Herb? was an advertising campaign for the fast food chain Burger King that ran in 1985 and 1986. The television commercials featured a fictional character named Herb, who was described as never having eaten a Whopper in his life. Advertisements called on fans to visit their local Burger King in the hope of finding Herb and winning a prize. The campaign also included an "I'm not Herb" promotion, in which customers could get a discounted Whopper by including the phrase in their order. This confused people who tried to follow the promotion because they did not know what Herb looked like. By the time his appearance was revealed, many people had already lost interest in the campaign. The promotion was poorly received and was the last campaign that the J. Walter Thompson agency designed for Burger King.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baconator</span> Cheeseburger sold by Wendys

The Baconator sandwich is a cheeseburger sold by the international fast-food restaurant chain Wendy's.

Burger King Dinner Baskets were a series of products introduced in 1993 by the international fast-food restaurant chain Burger King. The products were designed to add appeal to families and customers looking for a "higher class" meal found in family style restaurants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger wars</span> Series of fast food advertising campaigns

The Burger wars are a series of off-and-on comparative advertising campaigns consisting of mutually-targeted advertisements that highlight the intense competition between hamburger fast food chains McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and others in the United States. The term first came into use during the late 1970s due to an attempt by Burger King to generate increased market and mind-share by attacking the size of bigger rival McDonald's hamburgers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King grilled chicken sandwiches</span> Fast food items

The fast-food restaurant chain Burger King was the first major fast food chain to introduce a grilled chicken sandwich to the marketplace, in 1990, six months before Wendy's and four years before McDonald's. Since then, Burger King, and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's have offered a variety of grilled chicken sandwiches, as have Wendy's and McDonald's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burger King fish sandwiches</span> Fast food items

International fast-food restaurant chain Burger King and its Australian franchise Hungry Jack's have had a variety of fish sandwiches in their product portfolio since 1975. The Whaler sandwich was the first iteration, designed to compete with rival burger-chain McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich. With the addition of the company's Specialty Sandwich line in 1978, the sandwich was reformulated as the Long Fish sandwich. With the discontinuation of the Specialty Sandwich line, the sandwich was returned to its original recipe and name. With the introduction of the company's BK Broiler chicken sandwich in 1990, the fish sandwich became tied to the development cycle of the broiled chicken sandwich and was again reformulated and renamed as the Ocean Catch Fish fillet. When the broiled chicken sandwich underwent another reformulation in 2002, the fish sandwich was also redone and renamed as the BK Big Fish sandwich. By 2015, the sandwich had undergone several more modifications and went through a series of names including the BK Fish and Premium Alaskan fish sandwich. It is currently sold as the BK Big Fish sandwich in the United States and Canada. Internationally the fish sandwich is also known as the BK Fish, BK Fish'n Crisp burger, Fish King and Fish Royale in those markets.

References

  1. Stuart Elliot (21 October 1993). "Once Again, Burger King Shops for an Agency" . The New York Times. Retrieved 6 February 2008. The image-building effort centered on a youth-oriented campaign by D.M.B. & B. that imitated the rapid-fire pace and irreverence of MTV. Not only did the television commercials use the slogan "BK Tee Vee," they featured Dan Cortese, a hunky MTV host, as the pitchman.
  2. Theresa Howard (1 November 1993). "Value in driver's seat as BK takes new route". Nations Restaurant News. Retrieved 6 February 2008. Having survived such advertising blunders as Herb the Nerd and "sometimes you gotta break the rules" and such strategies as selling Domino's Pizza, Weight Watchers meals and offering table service, Burger King is proceeding along the value and back-to-basics route.