Burger King Bravely Changes Name to ‘Fries King’ to Launch New Product

In a risky but ambitious move, Burger King is publicising their new french fries by changing the name of the entire restaurant. It is promoting its new ‘satisfries’, which they claim have 40% less fat and 30% fewer calories. Becoming ‘Burger Fries’ is a divisive but clever PR stunt that will spread the word about the new product. The name has replaced signs on some restaurants and is prominent on their website.

There has been a stir on social media with some lashing out at changes to a familiar and iconic name but others being drawn to the new fries. It is a classic PR stunt, which has a mixed history in the fast food industry. For example, Pizza Hut re-named themselves Pasta Hut in 2008 to draw attention to the improved quality and nutrition of their other menu items. Burger King will have been aware of the backlash and reversal of that campaign and so their decision to continue  is a brave way to launch their new product.

Their product launch has been damaged on social media by a few missteps along the way. On Twitter, they tried to use ‘#WTFF’ to mean ‘What The French Fry’ but that encountered ridicule and lined up against other expletive laden tweets. Others have hijacked the ‘#FRIESKING’ hashtag to complain about the product. However, overall, the name change is a solid PR stunt to enliven the brand and launch the new ‘satisfries’.

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