BURGER KING - RESTAURANTS

In 1967, the company was sold to Pillsbury. The company's large investors expanded at a rate rivaling that of the parent company so it was up to the new owner to step in and attract more customers. Pillsbury introduced a new hard-hitting executive to take control over the franchisees. Donald Smith began by introducing an ever more demanding franchise contract so that the franchises could only be awarded by individuals (and not partnerships or companies) who do not own other restaurants and must live within an hour's drive of their franchise.

Acknowledging the power of the tv ads, Barry Gibbons tried to create new slogans for every campaign. Unfortunately, he did not succeed in refreshing the company’s image. With the enrolling of James Adamson as CEO in 1993, BK immediately started working on the companies key areas: quality, value and image. He started by increasing the size of the hamburger by 50%, following the introduction of the BK Big Fish.After years of inconsistent ads, Adamson finally broke through the fast feeders with the all new “Get your burger’s worth” campaign. In 1997, the firm launches a $70 million French fry advertising campaign. Now focusing on beating out the main competitor (McDonalds), Burger King introduced the Big King. Rolling down the lane of success, the franchise started refurbishing on different levels, starting with the company logo, the packaging and the drive-thru lanes. The whole rethinking was held not only in the U.S., but also in Europe and Latin America.