The Time Burger King Tried To Partner With McDonald's, But It Didn't Go As Planned
With how successful major fast food chains are, it is hard to imagine that they ever experience major failures. These restaurants are always trying to bring new items to menus but not all of them succeed. There have been times when even a giant like McDonald's makes mistakes.
While some attempts at new fast food items seem doomed to fail — like the time Burger King added burritos to the menu — some ideas don't appear as bad on paper. Such was the case with the McWhopper, which was supposed to be a burger crossover between McDonald's and Burger King. While a burger made by two fast food chains who are best-known for burgers sounds like a great idea, this concept never actually hit the market before McDonald's shut it down.
What most people might not know is that McDonald's didn't turn down the idea simply because the company didn't like it. In reality, it was simply due to the fact that Burger King came up with the idea without consulting anyone at McDonald's first; Reportedly, McDonald's didn't even hear about the concept until test samples were shown to the public.
The history of the McWhopper
The McWhopper wasn't born on a whim, but rather as a strategic partnership between McDonald's and Burger King. Although each was technically in competition with the other, the McWhopper was invented by Burger King as a symbol of peace between the two companies; as a limited item to be sold at a pop-up store. On top of that, proceeds from the McWhopper were supposed to go to the nonprofit organization Peace One Day.
Burger King went about proposing the crossover in a very unusual manner, which is perhaps what contributed to the McWhopper never taking off. Rather than contacting McDonald's directly, Burger King chose to publish a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune and the New York Times. To make things even more unusual, Burger King didn't really wait for a response from McDonald's before creating the McWhopper.
The McWhopper was presented on NBC "Today," with the show's anchors enjoying a taste test of the potential crossover. McDonald's was ultimately not pleased with this turn of events, resulting in the CEO turning down the proposal with a Facebook post. Although McDonald's wasn't opposed to a future crossover, the McWhopper ultimately got the official pass.
