(Want to try a McDonald’s Angus Third Pounder? See the bottom of this post to win free Angus burgers!)
Today, July 2nd, McDonald’s introduced a new burger to their menu across the nation. The Angus Third Pounders are the first new burgers the company has launched since the Big ‘N Tasty in 2001, this after two years of test marketing.
McDonald’s was kind enough to overnight me some coupons so that I could try these new Angus burgers today, the day they were released. While that sounds like a nice gesture, it is actually a bold move on McDonald’s part, considering the last time they sent me a gift card, I absolutely ripped them for their idiotic Olympic promotion on Friendster. Yes, Friendster.
Let it be known to the world: I HATE McDonald’s burgers. Big Mac? More like big crap. McChicken or chicken nuggets, sure sign me up, but McDonald’s burgers are terrible. Burger King and Wendy’s both have far superior burgers. But I’m here to serve you, the readers, not myself, so I trudged over to McDonald’s today with a couple co-workers to give these bad boys a try. Let me say this, and this is no joke: this was the best McDonald’s burger I’ve ever had. Seriously. Ever. I know I just set the bar low in terms of its other burgers, but this easily surpassed them all.
There are three different varieties available: Deluxe, Bacon & Cheese and Mushroom Swiss. I went with the Deluxe, which features mayo (trying to eat healthier, so I passed), mustard, lettuce, tomato, dill pickles, American cheese and red onion. My cohorts sampled the other two.
The first thing I noticed was that the burger they served me actually LOOKED like the picture of the burger on the menu. Astonishing. That pretty much never happens. Biting into it I was pleasantly surprised. The meat, while still inferior to the unfrozen beef of a Five Guys type burger, tasted noticeably better than the average McDonald’s burger. The bun was fresh and tasty, and the veggies, my goodness, the veggies were the freshest I’ve ever had on a McDonald’s burger. My colleagues agreed, noting everything tasted fresher than normal and the bacon was perfectly crispy. Plus, the burger is noticeably heftier than some of their other offerings.
This is when the McDonald’s supplied fact sheet came in handy. According to its fact sheet, McDonald’s introduced four totally new ingredients to the menu with the launch of this burger: bacon, swiss cheese, red onion and sauteed mushrooms. Wait a second I thought, McDonald’s has NEVER served a bacon burger before? But seriously, that’s accurate. Think about it. While other fast food chains got swept up in the bacon craze, McDonald’s NEVER introduced a bacon burger. Unbelievable! This also marks the first ever use of swiss cheese, mushrooms or red onions (most burgers have white onions) by the chain. Bravo McDonald’s, welcome to the bacon craze and welcome to the 21st century of expanding palates.
At $4, the burger isn’t cheap, I might still rather have a couple McChickens for half the price, or pay an extra buck for a Five Guys burger. However, the quality is a noticeable step up from usual McDonald’s fare. I can’t imagine I’ll be back at a McDonald’s anytime soon, as I avoid that place like the plague, but for those of you that regularly frequent it, you might want to give this burger a try.
Click below the fold to read details on how you can win free Angus burgers!
I get a lot of crap e-mailed to me by food companies. But every once in a while, an interesting piece of information slips through all the junk. Such was the case today. Hormel foods just conducted a survey asking American’s what their eating pet peeves are. Check out some of the results below.
Which of the following are pet peeves you have regarding other people eating?
Chewing with Their Mouth Open 81%
Chewing Loudly 75%
Double-Dipping 57%
Taking Food From Someone Else’s Plate 52%
Scraping Their Plate Loudly to Get Every Last Bit of Food 42%
Eating With Their Fingers 34%
Not Eating Everything on Their Plate 25%
Mixing All Food Together Instead of Eating Parts Separately 21%
None of These 3%
So readers, what are your biggest pet peeves when it comes to food and eating? Any that aren’t on this list? Anything from the list you are surprised to see is more or less of a complaint than you thought?
This video was spotted by our friends over at Brightest Young Things, who note about the video:
At first I thought this was a children’s video, but by the end of the first verse I think it’s about actually fucking fast food- as in making sex with fast food, getting turned on by fast food, or using fast food as a sexual enhancer. These performers must be victims of human trafficking because no one would do this if they still had free will.
The name of the group who made this is Fast Food Rockers, the name of the song is simply “The Fast Food Song.”
According to Wikipedia this was their “hit” song, reaching #2 on the UK pop charts. They released one album in 2003, which also featured the song “Say Cheese.” The band had broken up by March, 2004. However, you can still find them on MySpace.
If you are wondering about the giant purple dog, he is their mascot, “Hotdog.” He appeared in all three of their music videos. I have no idea why they wear those futuristic pleather outfits.
It was a hunk of mozzarella cheese with flakes of beef jerky in it, and that’s exactly what it tasted like. Sure, that sounds ok in theory, but I don’t really enjoy biting into giant hunks of mozzarella cheese.
Recently, Adage reported on the latest in what they refer to as the recent fast food “smutfest” (perhaps they were thinking of the recent BK blow job ad or Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr’s continuing use of hot chicks in bikinis). Proving that Hardee’s/Carl’s Jr. is basically unabashed in their use of sex and sexually suggestive terms to sell food, its latest promotion is asking customers to “Name Our Holes.” No, not those holes you pervert, Hardee’s has created a new product called “Biscuit Holes”, which is odd, because biscuits DO NOT HAVE holes.
So what is a Biscuit Hole? Hardee’s describes it as:
A bit of biscuit dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar and served with icing for dipping.
So where does the “Name Our Holes” stuff come into play? In a press release, Brad Haley, Hardee’s exec VP of marketing, states:
“They really are irresistible, and it’s almost impossible to eat just one. But what to call them was a big challenge. One of my favorite options was ‘Biznuts,’ a cross between ‘biscuits’ and ‘donuts’.”
Playing off of Hardee’s alleged confusion over what to call them, they have created a website called Name Our Holes and luckily were able to secure the rights to that URL, which was miraculously not already in use by a porn site. The website lets you submit suggested names as well as see the entries of others.
Some of you may be thinking, “hey, there is nothing lewd about this, they just want help re-naming their biscuit holes. Maybe you are finding sexual inneundo where it doesn’t exist.” For those thinking that, I would like to note exhibit A: the slogan is, “They sound wrong, but taste so right.” Also, exhibits B & C: two early commercials for the product. In this first one, the announcer solicits ideas for product names, even suggesting himself that a good name would be “bisticules.”
This second ad is actually quite funny. Taste testers are asked to try donut holes and biscuit holes, and report on which one they like better. The plates are labeled “A” and “B”, leading to many remarks about what people do, or do not like about “the A holes.”
So on the one hand we have Hardee’s ads that were basically written by a bunch of frat guys, and contain multiple testicle jokes. On the other hand, I found myself laughing at some of the commercials, and even though I’d never eat this product, I found myself compelled to write about the product launch and marketing campaign. Is the idea and promotion behind this product launch a bit juvenile and tasteless? Yes. But it seems like this was done in a way that makes people scoff, snicker and remember the ads. Unlike the BK blow job ad, which elicited few snickers, just reactions of bafflement at how over the line it was.
I’m not saying I love this product launch or anything, but in juxtaposition to the blow job ad, it does remind you that you can play around the line without blatently crossing it.
And you thought you had a rough childhood. How about having to pose in custom-made three-piece bacon-esque tuxedos? Where else but on Awkward Family Photos would you find this shot…
And how many times will the shark be jumped? Stay tuned.
Give Carl’s Jr. credit, they know how to get the maximum attention for commercials before they even air on TV. We already covered the first photo they released, but today comes a release of not only a new photo, but the two commercials themselves, both the 30-second and 60-second version. These aren’t as steamy hot as the Padma Lakshmi commercial, but they get the point across.
Wow. Burger King’s ad campaigns continue to push the boundaries. We’ve covered in detail here many different “edgy” advertising campaigns they’ve had. At this point, it seems like BK has done it all: using “Square Butts” to promote kids meals, urging you to “pleasure yourself“, a shirtless BK King, possibly naming a product after a slang term for a close-up photo of a vagina, and frequently throwing around the term “virgin.” This newest ad, however, may take the cake:
Yes, Burger King has a new sandwich called the “Super Seven Incher.” When I say “hot”, “meaty” and “7 inches” what do you think of? Well you aren’t alone. So did the ad minds behind this new campaign, who apparently just couldn’t resist the idea/imagery of a woman giving a blow job to a giant 7-inch hunk of meat. Just in case you couldn’t pick up on the subtlety of the idea, they decided to hit you over the head with it. Other blogs, such as Gawker, have already taken notice:
Just look at all that piping hot beef laden with creamy mayo aligned perfectly with the open mouth of a wide-eyed blonde
Add in the fact that the woman has make-up and facial expressions which pretty much resemble that of a blow-up doll. Of course her mouth is agape, which serves to alleviate any doubt someone might have that maybe, just MAYBE they aren’t making a blow-job reference. Oh, and just to be sure, the word BLOW is prominently featured. The description of the product is only slightly less sexual:
Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER
When it comes to blatantly using sexual innuendo in your advertising, this is the print ad equivalent of the “Two Girls, One Sub” video that Quizno’s may or may not have been behind. Burger King’s ad agency, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is known for edgy, attention grabbing ads. When they succeed they soar, but when they flop, they usually crash and burn, generating tons of backlash and negative attention. They don’t shy away from controversy, and they seem eager and ready to use sexual innuendo whenever possible. However, CP+B is focused on BK’s domestic marketing. Copyranter has updated his original post to say that CP+B is NOT responsible for this ad. It appears the ad is running outside of the United States – Fast Food News says it’s a new menu item in Singapore area restaurants, while also remarking:
We’ve seen more suggestive advertising, to be sure, but this one just seems to be poorly executed AND in bad taste (and probably tastes bad, too).
I’m with Fast Food News on this one. Not sure why the people who designed this ad thought it would “work.” Sure, it’s getting attention, but all negative. Even if it helps sell the sandwich in Singapore, it may provoke a backlash in the United States. Every time you get press for one of these ads, an offended mother is that much less likely to take her kids to Burger King.
On a total side note, this ad campaign does hilariously match-up with Burger King’s “It Just Tastes Better” slogan.
Update: We have a winner of the $25 gift card! JamieSusan of GimmeYummy. Congrats.
I’ll tell you one thing: THIS guy does. Regular readers of this blog know I’m not a sweets or dessert guy, never order it, rarely eat it. But the one exception is cheesecake. I absolutely love the stuff. The Cheesecake Factory, to their credit as a chain restaurant, has pretty good food, and damn good cheesecake.
I first discovered this place while spending a semester in Washington, DC during college. A big group of us went there for Easter dinner because, well, none of us were able to go home, and as college kids, couldn’t exactly afford Easter dinner at a fancy restaurant. It was that night that I discovered The Cheesecake Factory will serve you portions bigger than your head. I stuffed myself that meal, ate a little bit late night, and still had enough leftovers for lunch the next day.
The Cheesecake Factory has a new promotion called “Share Your Celebration.” I don’t often write about the campaigns my company is sometimes promoting, but this one has some pretty sweet prizes. A trip for Four to Florida, gift cards, and maybe coolest of all FREE cheesecake for a year. To enter, just go to the site and share what you have to celebrate.
I also have a $25 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory to give away to one lucky reader. To enter to win, please post in the comments what your favorite or most memorable experience with cheesecake is. If you don’t like or are allergic to cheesecake, you can still win the gift card – just post saying why you don’t like or don’t have a memorable experience with cheesecake. The Cheesecake Factory has a huge menu, so if you win, you still get free dinner out of it!
The most interesting or intriguing response before July 1st will get the gift card. Unless they aren’t that intriguing, in which case I’ll pick someone from the comments at random. I will post details for how the winner can contact me on or around July 1st. Good luck everyone!
Time for another Would You Rather? I’m making an effort to try and have a new one of these each Monday. Given that yesterday was the first official day of summer, I thought we’d take a look at the popularity of two popular summer drinks.
Last week we took a look back at the BK King in the 1970’s, noting that the “Magic” King back then was arguably no less creepy than the current incarnation of the BK King. Now lets take a look at a McDonald’s ad from 1971, featuring none other than Willard Scott as Ronald McDonald, advertising a fun new Ronald McDonald doll! Creepy or adorable, you make the call!
I recently read that Congress is considering a proposal that would require nutritional info to be put on menus next to every food item at fast food and chain restaurants. Some states already require fast food restaurants to display this material. While I think that this concept of labeling works pretty well for fast food, I think that’s as far as it should go.
As a consumer, I don’t want to be bombarded with a calorie count and the grams of saturated fat I am about to eat. When I go out to a sit-down restaurant, I want to eat good food, relax and enjoy myself. Feeling guilty about the huge plate of pasta I knocked out is not so appealing. I know this country has an obesity epidemic, which is why I advocate for the fast food option. But I think that is far as this should go. What do you think? Nutritional info on all menus? None?
H/t to Consumerist and LA Times for the pic. Also, be wary of chain restaurants, as Eick referenced here.
Ah, it’s time for another Would You Rather? question, this time comparing two different breakfast options.
Option #1: You can never eat dougnuts again.
Option #2: You can never eat bagels again.
I think this one is pretty straightforward, no explanation need. I’ll be curious to see the results. Please argue your various reasons/points of view in the comments.
Burger King has been pretty steadfast in sticking to their use of the creepy BK King despite decidely mixed reviews about the character. But it’s important to remember that the BK King was not always creepy. There was a time where the King character appealed not to jaded 18-34 year old males with big appetites, but instead appealed to the starry eyed and optimistic children of America.
To see the contrast in the marketing technique utilized to shape the appeal of the BK King, take a look at this 1978 Burger King commercial, which features “The Magic Burger King” performing all sorts of tricks for an audience of captivated children:
A month or two ago I had the opportunity to try Z Burger, an up and coming burger chain in the DC metro area. The worst part about Z Burger is the fact that it is essentially a blatent copycat of Five Guys. However, this is also the best part about it. Instead of falling short, they seem to have risen to the challenge of largely measuring up to Five Guys.
When you enter Z Burger you are confronted with a menu almost identical to Five Guys – fries, single or double burgers, cheese burgers or bacon cheese burgers, plus a list of 20 or so toppings, all at no extra charge. The differentiation from Five Guys comes in the form of additional menu items – cheesesteaks, onion rings and about 70 different milkshakes, with flavors ranging from Birthday Cake to Peanut Butter & Jelly.
We placed our order and our burger arrived wrapped in tinfoil adorned with the Z Burger logo:
A healthy sized burger for sure, and as I always do, I loaded it up with almost every topping available:
The burger is juicy and tasty, although a little cleaner and less greasy than a Five Guys burger. It lacks the depth of greasy flavor most Five Guys burgers have, but hits about 90% of the flavor notes necessary for a good burger. On to the sides:
The fries might actually be slightly better than Five Guys. They have a good fresh taste and are complemented perfectly with vinegar. But after that, we moved on to the real star of the Z Burger show, the onion rings:
Click below to keep reading for more photos and thoughts on Z Burger!
"So Good has the lowdown on anything that’s happening in the world of food media. He’s the guy who broke the LeBron James/Papa Johns scandal and the hilarious Kraft cheese MySpace debacle." - Endless Simmer
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