Burger King boldly announced their proposal to create a hybrid “McWhopper” with McDonalds through an undoubtedly pricey website, print and social campaign.
The website outlined the details of the proposal – the McWhopper would be served for one day only at a pop up location in Atlanta (halfway between the two corporate headquarters) with proceeds benefitting Peace One Day. The McWhopper would combine the Big Mac buns, cheese, lettuce and special sauce with the Whopper patty, tomato, onion, ketchup, pickles, but it was noted at the end of the proposal that everything was up for discussion.
McDonalds quickly replied on Facebook with a lengthy corporate version of “nah, we’re good.” While they didn’t completely shut down the idea of collaborating for charity, it’s pretty clear they weren’t on board with Burger King’s full proposal. It’s hard to blame them, when Burger King likely spent months creating the visually appealing and widespread campaign, only to give McDonalds less than one month to agree to their terms and create a partnership. It seems like the only company to come out on top will be Burger King, with having the upper hand in the partnership if McDonalds agrees, or having public sympathy and support if McDonalds declines.