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McDonald’s this week invited Canadians to visit its Facebook page and vote for either the Big Mac or the Quarter Pounder with Cheese as their favorite sandwich. A pair of giant hot-air balloons—one for each sandwich– hovering over Landmark, Manitoba, give real-time  updates on the voting: whichever balloon is floating higher in the sky is [...]

[7/21: Winner! The Netherlands also gets a Double California Whopper.] [7/16 Update: It's spreading. In Germany and Austria, BK has added not only the California Whopper but also a California Wrap and a Texican Burrito. To watch the Monologue commercial about the California Whopper, go here.] “Catch a wave and you’re sitting on top of [...]

It’s no longer enough to say that burgers are all-American. This spring, burgers are not just American, they’re regional. A new TV campaign for Applebee’s Realburgers spotlights burgers named for American “neighborhoods” and The Cheesecake Factory has introduced a six-item line of Glamburgers, each of which the chain says is “inspired by a different region [...]

Sometimes brands, too, need to hit bottom before admitting they need help. That apparently is what has happened with Arby’s, which finally, finally has found the courage to stand up and say, “We sell roast beef sandwiches. And they’re GOOD!”   Al Franken’s famous Stuart Smalley ”Saturdary Night Live” character could be the spokesman for the new [...]

You have to love the global burger scene. No sooner does McDonald’s unveil burgers named for New York and other American cities in Scandinavia than Burger King counters with a series of burgers named for mountains. The Mountain Burgers are now on the menu in extremely unmountainous The Netherlands, where BK previously offered XL Burgers and, before [...]

[March 9 update: Hungry Jack's has met the throwdown and responded already with a "$4.95 Extra Value Brekky": The deal includes one of 3 muffin sandwiches (including Eggs Benny) plus hash browns and cappuccino. The muffin's in your court McDonald's!] Ξ Don’t think discounting is done. Checkers/Rally’s has expanded its $1 offerings with the addition of “Unbelieva Burgers”: [...]

 ► Happy Chinese New Year, which shared yesterday with St. Valentine’s Day. You golfers will want to know that it’s the Year of the Tiger. For you burger lovers in Singapore, McDonald’s is celebrating New Year’s with the Double Prosperity Burger and this commercial (at left). Is it a bad sign that not even the [...]

A cessation of hostilities during the Olympics is a tradition more honored in spirit than in fact, but McDonald’s steps back from the so-called “burger wars” today and celebrates the neutrality and popularity of Chicken McNuggets with a Twitter-based promotion as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games get under way. As reported here in December, McDonald’s 1,400 [...]

How does a chain bounce back from an 11.2% drop in same-store sales fueled by an 11.9% decrease in guest counts? That’s what Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (and Wall Street) asked itself after those negatives were the brand’s reality through the 40-week period ended Oct. 4, 2009. In February, Red Robin will show what it [...]

Happy Monday! There were a few interesting tidbits you may have missed last week: ► Researcher Ace Metrix released its list of the most-effective TV commercials of 2009, with effectiveness defined primarily as persuasiveness. The overall winner? Rubbermaid storage containers with interlocking lids. That says something about Americans’ desire to have their world put in [...]

[1/12 Update: Wendy's plans rollout of Bacon & Blue burger. Details here.] Seeking to build the appeal of its sides as well as entrees, Wendy’s is testing Natural-Cut Fries in selected markets. Sprinkled with sea salt, the thick, skin-on potato strips are served with ketchup in either a mini-tub for dipping or traditional squeeze pack. [...]

► Young people decide that the Mac Snack Wrap had them at hello in a commercial (at left) for the 330-calorie, half-a-Big-Mac-in-a-tortilla item that McDonald’s rolled out nationally last week, 10 months after it was first introduced in Canada. ► It’s nice to learn (courtesy of the always-informative A Hamburger Today) that Lady Gaga’s visit [...]

Sonic Corp. is the decade’s first QSR operator to cry uncle and declare it no longer wants to play the discount game. The fourth-largest burger chain is getting its own ball and drafting game rules that once again put brand experience ahead of price in defining value. After announcing disappointing results for his company’s first quarter of [...]

Midway through enjoying a McDonald’s Angus Bacon Cheese or Wendy’s Bacon Deluxe or Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Six Dollar Burger, the thought occurs: Doesn’t it seem like almost every burger now is bacon topped? Like the McDonald’s Australia commercial at left, the menu mantra appears to be, “Bacon. Bacon. Bacon.” And, in fact, the lingering [...]

What we’ve learned: However tasty, applewood-smoked bacon isn’t powerful enough to counter this recession’s downward suction. How we know that: Same-store sales for company-owned Wendy’s units declined 4% in October despite the $75 million launch of the “You know when it’s real” ad campaign and the Bacon Deluxe cheeseburger. What happens now: Wendy’s may want [...]