Burger King Just Fired Its Mascot And Announces A New ‘King’

Burger King is tripling down on its commitment to becoming a customer-focused chain. On the heels of president Tom Curtis giving out his number, and the recent upgrade-fication of The Whopper, Burger King has launched a new campaign called “There’s A New King And It’s You.”

Originally aired during the Oscars on March 15, the campaign marks the beginning of a new chapter for the chain, one which de-centers its iconic mascot and centers customers. Basically, Burger King has decided to fire the “creepy” King mascot who’s been the face of its brand since 2004.

“When creating “There’s A New King And It’s You” we knew for sure: this can’t just be another ad campaign. It needs to document the real, years long story of co-creating the future of Burger King with guests,” said Matt McNulty, executive vice president, and Ben Pfutzenreuter, executive creative director of Burger King creative agency of record OKRP, in a statement. 

In the commercial, a timeline highlights the Burger King over the years, except, not with the intention to stoke nostalgia, but rather to underscore the decline of the fast food experience. Burger King is admitting that even it has fallen off. 

“We recognize that there was something to that idea, as we were also doing a lot of work over the last four years trying to put the guests at the forefront,” said Joel Yashinsky, CMO of Burger King U.S. and Canada. “We have plans to continue this platform for the foreseeable future. We think this is something that is going to connect with guests.”