Battle of the burger chains

 

In January, Irish burger chain Supermac's won their battle against rival McDonald's over use of the name "Big Mac". McDonald's patented Big Mac back in 1996 as the name of both a burger and potentially a restaurant name as well. This last bit is important because this allowed McDonald's to prevent the Irish chain opening restaurants in the UK and EU under the name Supermac's because McDonald's argued that the name Supermac's was too similar to the name Big Mac, which could confuse customers... even though McDonald's doesn't currently and never has operated any restaurants called Big Mac in the UK or EU. Supermac's contested that McDonald's was not making genuine use of Big Mac as the name of a restaurant and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) agreed and revoked the Big Mac trademark from McDonald's. 

This David and Goliath victory creates the opportunity for Supermac's branded restaurants to now open in the UK and EU. It also means that now anyone in the EU can use the name Big Mac. McDonald's bigger rival Burger King wasted no time in taunting McDonald's over their defeat. Two weeks after the EUIPO's decision, Burger King Sweden aired a TV ad that features a whole menu of items mocking the Big Mac. In the ad, various customers enter a Burger King restaurant and place orders for burgers with names including, "Like a Big Mac, but actually big", "Big Mac-ish but flame-grilled of course", and "Kind of like a Big Mac, but juicier and tastier". However, if Burger King believed that their enemy's enemy was their friend, they were wrong because less than a week later, Supermac's took a clear jab at both of their American-owned rivals. Just before Ireland's opening match against England in the Six Nations rugby competition, Supermac's posted an advert on Twitter depicting Ronald McDonald's feet and a cracked Burger King crown protruding from a dustbin, accompanied by the words "No clowns, no crowns, just great food. You'll never beat the Irish!"

While the two ads described above were reported on in the UK and Irish national media, McDonald's new campaign went under their radar. But I believe it was deliberately timed to launch immediately after the EUIPO's decision, and devised to address a negative outcome should there be one, which there was. The campaign, entitled The Big Mac Debate, announced the return of the Big Mac range. This consisted of Mac Jr., Big Mac, and Grand Big Mac, all of which were newly available with bacon. In the advert, the actors argue over whether the addition of bacon means the burger can still be called a Big Mac, with many disagreements among friends, colleagues, and spouses. The voice-over ends by stating, "We call it a Big Mac, but it's up to you to decide" and the hashtags #StillABigMac and #NotABigMac appear in the final shot, either side of the logo. While not quite the existential crisis that the McDonald's press release made this out to be, what this campaign did do was 1) continue to associate the name Big Mac with the McDonald's brand, even though they no longer hold the trademark to Big Mac in the UK and EU. 2) It increased the number of Big Macs to choose from sixfold (the three sizes in the range, with or without bacon), creating something new for customers to return to the restaurant to try.* And, 3) the concept (and perhaps superiority) of the traditional Big Mac is reinforced by the introduction of something new to define it against; indeed, the people in the advert who disagree that the variety with bacon is truly a Big Mac make the most vehement arguments. And this sets up a subtle shot at Supermac's which sends the message that it doesn't matter if McDonald's doesn't have the exclusive rights to the name anymore, because McDonald’s still owns the Big Mac in the hearts and minds of their customers.

One thing is for sure: the public’s appetite for hamburgers is big enough for all three of these brands and more to exist in the market. It is now only a matter of time until Supermac’s expands into the UK and EU. It will be interesting to see whether they can take a bite out of McDonald’s market share, or whether customers’ loyalty remains with the golden arches.
   

*According to the same press release, this is apparently the first time the Big Mac recipe has been altered in the UK since the burger launched in 1968. The first McDonald’s restaurant opened in the UK in 1974 so this is the first change to the Big Mac in the UK in 45 years. McDonald’s clearly doesn’t tamper with the formula of their flagship burger often, which I think is more evidence this campaign was deliberately timed to coincide with the EUIPO’s decision and was not just merely coincidental.