Burger King retires King mascot making its advergames instant collector’s items.
Companies often need to reinvent themselves in order to stay current with the present generation. In the early Oughts, Burger King brought back an old image from the 1970s – the masked King character – in a memorable commercial with the monarch awakening in a bed with a twenty-something dude. Since then, Burger King used the silent King in an unorthodox campaign targeted at teens, especially with the debut of three “advergames” on Xbox 360 in 2006. But now that Burger King has new owners and a new ad agency, the decision to ditch the King in favor of a healthier approach is meant to attract more foodies and mothers rather than crazy teenagers.
“People want a reason to go back to Burger King,” say the Burger King executives. “There was a time when price value was king. Now, healthy choice and quality drive the category.”
Part of the new push will be for fresh foods like the new California Burger which features avocado for a limited time. “There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon.”
This means no more quirky ads with that freaky King dude, which I have to call a win. Also notable is that PocketBike Racer, Sneak King, and Big Bumpin’ all just got a bump in value on collector’s shelves as the chances of these games being reissued any time soon is probably nil.
Then again, if games based on retired corporate mascots like Dominos’ Noid and the Spot from 7UP are any indication, these games will only be worth about 10 bucks in twenty years.
So if you used to sneak around trying to give sandwiches to strangers in Sneak King, at least you’ll be able to sell the game at a loss to some Burger King fanatic on Ebay in 2033.
Source: USA Today
