A video of Burger King president Tom Curtis sampling the company’s revamped Whopper has gone viral, earning favorable comparisons to a video of McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski tasting the chain’s new launch, the Big Arch.
Curtis appeared to take a more enthusiastic bite of the fast food item than Kempczinski, and the difference had social media users offering unrestrained commentary.
Highlights
- A viral video of Burger King president Tom Curtis enthusiastically biting into the revamped Whopper sparked online comparisons with McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski.
- Social media users mocked Kempczinski’s reserved reaction to the new Big Arch, while applauding Curtis for appearing confident and genuinely excited about his company’s burger.
- Burger King’s Whopper revamp, the first major change in nearly a decade, includes upgraded ingredients and improved packaging, with no price increase for customers.
“This dude knows how to take a bite,” one user wrote in Curtis’s support, while a critic of the McDonald’s boss said they felt as though he “was repulsed by his own food.”
Burger King has changed the Whopper for the first time in nearly 10 years following customer feedback.
Burger King's president has earned praise from netizens, while McDonald’s CEO faced intense online mockery
Image credits: Instagram/chrisk_mcd TikTok/burgerking
The fast food chain’s new Whopper includes a more premium bun and is served in a box to ensure it reaches customers exactly as it left the kitchen.
Stacked with fresh slices of onions and tomatoes, crisp lettuce, tangy pickles, and better-tasting mayonnaise, the Whopper, according to the restaurant’s promotional pitch, still retains what guests love most: more than a quarter pound of 100 percent flame-grilled beef.
Image credits: Getty
As Curtis, who had asked customers to call or text him directly with suggestions on improving the signature item, tasted the revamped recipe, it immediately reminded viewers of the McDonald’s chief doing the same last month.
Image credits: Instagram/chrisk_mcd
“He took a decent bite, unlike the McDonald’s CEO,” one commentator wrote, while another added, “Wow, their CEO is not a robot.”
“That is how you do it,” a third added.
Image credits: Instagram/chrisk_mcd
“Yes, the McDonald’s CEO did not even eat his,” noted a fourth.
“This is a CEO who trusts and believes in his food, unlike the other CEO who sees his burger as a product,” remarked a fifth, pointing out that Kempczinski introduced the Big Arch as a “product.”
“Yes, he never once used the word ‘product,’” a sixth agreed.
Netizens then pointed to how the Whopper and Big Arch tasting videos featured the CEO’s of each company as centerpieces.
“CEOs competing in the most corporate way possible. The marketing team definitely had this one locked and loaded,” one user said, while another added, “The CEO war has begun.”
Burger King was cautious with its changes, according to Curtis
Image credits: eyeDoge
Speaking to CNN on February 26, Curtis said the changes to the Whopper were mostly driven by complaints that the burgers were being “smushed.”
A customer on Facebook compared the Whopper in its current form to a “sandwich,” alleging it happened because there was no structural packaging holding the whole thing together, while another added that the paper wrapping “dried out” the burger.
Image credits: TikTok/burgerking
“We improvised packaging that holds it together,” Curtis told CNN, before adding that the idea of “creamier mayonnaise frankly came from some franchisees.”
Addressing how the company was careful with the changes, he said, “You do not want to just tear up the playbook and start all over.”
He described the revamped Whopper as their “iconic burger in a tuxedo instead of a leisure suit.”
People seem to agree with him, with the new version of the Whopper drawing reviews like: “My Whoppers from today were picturesque and delicious.”
Customers will not have to pay extra for the enhanced Whopper, despite increased production costs for Burger King
Image credits: TikTok/burgerking
According to CNN, Burger King franchisees will spend an extra $4,000 a year while continuing to sell the Whopper at its current price.
Robert Byrne, senior director of consumer research at Technomic, a data company for the food service industry, described the move as “very tricky,” noting that local store owners may argue that labor costs are not getting any cheaper.
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However, he said it is an essential step in improving the business.
Burger King is the eighth-largest fast food chain in America by sales, according to Technomic.
The company lost customers around 2023, Byrne said, with many complaining about outdated stores, cold food, and an overall lackluster experience.
Image credits: Sindikate12
The company had to tackle those problems before updating the menu, Curtis told CNN, adding that sales are finally on the upswing in the United States, with some stores registering a 3.2 percent rise in profit in the most recent quarter.
Curtis confirmed that the recipe upgrade will not stop with the Whopper, saying, “There are a lot of people saying, ‘Can you work on your French fries?’”
"Burger King CEO is elite. It was always the best burger anyway," a netizen expressed
