(PCM) In an effort to join forces and celebrate International Peace Day coming up on September 21, Burger King made the decision to reach out to McDonald’s by taking out two full page ads in both the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to propose that the two companies bring a cease fire to the “burger wars” and combine their two most famous sandwiches, The Whopper and The Big Mac, to create The McWhopper to celebrate Peace Day.
The ad says “Good morning McDonald’s. We come in peace. In fact, we come in honor of peace. We know we’ve had our petty differences, but how about we call a ceasefire on these so-called ‘burger wars’?”. The ad goes on to explain why Burger King decided to extend the olive branch as they feel the creation of something as spectacular as The McWhopper would be an excellent way to get the world talking about subjects such as peace, harmony and non-violence.
Burger King ends the letter by saying “All of the tastiest bits of your Big Mac and our Whopper united in one delicious, peace-loving burger, developed together, cooked together, and available in one location for one day only. Let’s end the beef with beef. Talk soon”.
The company even went as far as to create a YouTube video and website to go along with their outreach to create The McWhopper, however the amazing idea was quickly squashed by McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook, who posted a somewhat snarky response on the companies Facebook page which read:
Dear Burger King,
Inspiration for a good cause… great idea.
We love the intention but think our two brands could do something bigger to make a difference.
We commit to raise awareness worldwide, perhaps you’ll join us in a meaningful global effort?
And every day, let’s acknowledge that between us there is simply a friendly business competition and certainly not the unequaled circumstances of the real pain and suffering of war.
We’ll be in touch. – Steve, McDonald’s CEO P.S. A simple phone call will do next time.
Many are already calling the response from McDonald’s a bad business move, as it has been no secret that the fast-food chain has been on a downward slope for the last several years. This move could have done wonders to boot their business and reputation. So sad the two companies could not come together as it would have been awesome. Many are still holding out to hope that McDonald’s will eventually see the err of their ways and come together with Burger King on the epic project to celebrate a great cause.