Phone call will do: Steve Easterbrook.
By Raif Karerat
So much for that idea, but way to give it the old college try, Burger King.
McDonald’s has declined Burger King’s offer to collaborate on a monumental “McWhopper” in the name of world peace.
The “McWhopper” would have combined elements of the chains’ famous “Big Mac” and “Whopper” burgers to create a new double-decker burger. The burgers would have been sold for one day in a franchise jointly run by employees of both companies.
Burger King launched the stunt by taking out a full page spreads in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune. The move was made in support of a nonprofit called Peace One Day, which says it promotes Peace Day.
The United Nations created the International Day of Peace in 1981 to coincide with its annual opening session in September. It then designated Sept. 21 as the annual “day of non-violence and cease-fire” in 2001, reported the Associated Press.
However, despite Burger King’s best efforts, the extension of what would assumedly be a deep-fried olive branch didn’t seem to sit so well with the folks under the Golden Arches.
“We love the intention but think our two brands could do something bigger to make a difference,” read a post on McDonald’s Facebook page signed by McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook.
“We commit to raise awareness worldwide, perhaps you’ll join us in a meaningful global effort?†Easterbrook continued. “And every day, let’s acknowledge that between us there is simply a friendly business competition and certainly not the unequaled circumstances of the real pain and suffering of war.â€
He even managed to peg on a passive-aggressive postscript: “P.S. A simple phone call will do next time.â€