It’s very clear now that Burger King’s move into the hot dog space has ignited a wiener war of epic proportions. Today, Checkers & Rally’s Restaurants launched a whopper of an attack on the burger chain by taking a shot at the “king’s overpriced, late-to-the-game idea.” Referring to Burger King as a “copycat,” the war for the hot dog dollar appears to be escalating into a full blown wiener crisis.
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In response to Burger King’s Grilled Dogs, Checkers & Rally’s is now offering its dogs for just 79 cents each. The company says it wants to remind the world that Checkers & Rally’s has been cooking up hand-grilled hot dogs made with 100 percent beef for more than 30 years. Burger King’s Grilled Dogs sell for sell for $1.99 and $2.29.
And if you thought this wiener war with Burger King would simply fizz out, Checkers & Rally’s is beefing up the attack with a full-page advertisement in USA Today.
We highly doubt Burger King will respond with a direct attack of their own. It really doesn’t make good marketing sense to acknowledge the competition if you’re the recognized leader – or the champ.
This is all about marketing, and the fact the competition is challenging Burger King directly can only be good news for Burger King. It’s basically earned media for Burger King’s competition as much as it is for Burger King. It also confirms that Burger King’s move into the hot dog space has the competition nervous. In the end, the real fate of Burger King’s Grilled Dogs will be determined by the consumer, not a cheeky advertising campaign.
On Monday, 7-Eleven launched an attack on Burger King’s Grilled Dogs with a campaign of their own – proclaiming a Hot Dog Bill of Rights.
We like a good food war.