Another marathon session in Seattle started in the morning and lasted--with a break for Melinda to pick up lunch at Burger King--until guests started arriving for dinner.
While the desire to pair humor with a commercial message has a long history in advertising-- Burger King's creepy King character and Bud Light's "Real Men of Genius" being sterling examples--the PR industry has demonstrated a sluggish embrace of yucks as a vehicle to deliver a message about companies, brands or issues.
Operating along the same lines, fellow fast-food purveyor Burger King introduced a new "low-fat platform" consisting largely of chicken sandwiches and Wendy's (nyse: WEN - news - people ) expanded its Web site to include more nutritional information.
In a move that can be seen as desperate, McDonald's (nyse: MCD - news - people ) and Burger King keep extending those 99-cent add-ons in the U.S. in an attempt to boost sales.
McDonald's new Made-For-You marketing is a shameless ripoff of Burger King's Have-It-Your-Way promotion.
Imagine how 3G Capital's cost-cutting at Burger King would look if compiled by an Obama Super Pac into a black-and-white TV ad featuring interviews with workers who lost their jobs.
One day--maybe not next year or in five years, but eventually--the Big Mac will flatline in the U.S. The evidence: In the past four years McDonald's has averaged only 1% annual same-store sales growth, trailing the 4% average for its main burger rivals, Burger King, Wendy's and Jack-in-the-Box.
He declined to comment on prices for the remaining company-owned Burger King restaurants up for sale.
Mr. Wiborg said forthcoming sales of company-owned Burger King restaurants will likely include transactions involving just two or three units and that some may require remodeling.
Burger King didn't know who hacked the account, and no other social media accounts were affected, said Bryson Thornton, a spokesman for Miami-based Burger King Worldwide Inc.
John Gordon, a restaurant analyst in San Diego, believes that the company-owned Burger King restaurants expected to go on sale in the coming months are likely to be poor investments.
There has been some concern that a hike to the payroll tax that rolled out last month would cool consumer spending and Burger King and Wal-Mart have already said they've noticed a pull-back from their customers.
Diageo (nyse: DEO - news - people ) unit Burger King , meanwhile, which has itself gone on an advertising tear, has probably seen only modest same-store sales this year, Sherrick says.
Earlier this year, Burger King launched its biggest-ever menu expansion including fruit smoothies, snack wraps and new salads.
Burger King is a no-show in Brazil, where there are now 700 McDonald's.
It follows some high-profile Twitter hacks in recent days - including accounts for Burger King, Jeep and BBC Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson.
The Old Spice effort and Burger King's order-taking chicken are among the best-ever social media campaigns identified by Forbes.com and a group of experts.
In just the past month, Burger King has introduced no-bun burgers, and the Subway sandwich chain has introduced a joint marketing promotion with the Atkins Diet Center to promote low-carb wraps.
Other competitors like Bloomin Brands ( ) , Burger King ( BKW - Snapshot Report ) , Jack in the Box ( JACK) and others have lower Zacks Ranks and higher multiples.
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' I knew this referred to the plastic-headed King character from Burger King's ongoing ad campaign.
Arby's, Chili's, Denny's, McDonald's, IHOP and Burger King are within a five-minute drive.
The quick moves at Burger King reflects a dynamic deal-making ethos nurtured by the three men since they came together in the 1970s to form a Rio de Janeiro brokerage that ultimately became one of the country's biggest investment banks.
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At Yum Brands' three main chains, U.S. average same-store sales growth softened last year after the first quarter. (They rose an estimated 2% for the year.) In a move that can be seen as desperate, McDonald's and Burger King keep extending those 99-cent add-ons in an attempt to boost sales.
On childhood trips into the country, she remembers, her parents would ruthlessly by-pass McDonald's and Burger King.
Other high-profile victims of hacking include Burger King and Jeep, whose Twitter accounts were both hijacked in February.
Those who do so will receive targeted discounts from participating merchants, with Burger King and its 7, 000-plus locations signed on as the pilot partner.
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It was the largest roll-out in company history, Burger King says.
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British-based Diageo purchased Pillsbury, Burger King and Green Giant.
He unsuccessfully tried to buy Burger King (nyse: BKC - news - people ) in 2002 and owns stakes in Cheesecake Factory (nasdaq: CAKE - news - people ) and H.
Burger King isn't the only fast-food chain that's trying to draw attention with unusual offerings.
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