Burger King Tells Customers to Order from McDonald’s and Other Fast-Food Rivals

In a surprising social media post, Burger King UK encouraged customers to order and buy food from its archrival McDonald’s and other competitors. The Twitter post was an appeal to customers to support all restaurants that employ thousands of workers. Burger King posted the tweet ahead of a second lockdown in the country. Aside from McDonald's, Burger King also mentioned KFC, Pizza Hut, Five Guys, Greggs, Taco Bell, and other fast-food chains in the post. With the tweet, Burger King aimed to promote solidarity among fast-food chains amidst the pandemic. The food industry in the United Kingdom has been hard hit by the lockdowns. In late March, restaurants had to stop dine-in services because of government restrictions. Unemployment rates increased when a number of food businesses went out of business. Burger King encouraged its customers to go to the drive-thru, get takeout, or order home delivery in order to help those in the restaurant industry. The support, according to the company, will not only help restaurants survive, but also help restaurant employees keep their jobs and income. Burger King’s post has received over 170,000 likes and thousands of comments, most of which were positive. Many users lauded the fast-food restaurant’s statement as classy. However, others commented that the statement is a marketing ploy meant to benefit multinational corporations and put small local stores at a greater disadvantage. Meanwhile, Burger King US took a more upfront approach to promote its business. Last Halloween, the company promised free Whoppers to customers who visited closed down stores once run by competitors McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, and Jack in the Box. When customers used the Burger King app to confirm that they were within 100 meters of a competitor's closed down store, they got a coupon for a free Whopper.