Hail to the King (of Beef)?

[author: Steve Baird]

These McDonald’s billboard signs are all over the place at the moment.

For more examples check out I Saw An EyeSore Billboard.

Maybe I think too much about the words “hail to the beef,” but it strikes me as an obvious play on the phrase “hail to the king” or perhaps “hail to the chief” (it is an election year afterall) — if the former, is it a poke in the eye to Burger King, the self-proclaimed King of Burgers?

Maybe, maybe not, but even if it is, I strongly doubt there is enough similarity there for a legitimate claim by BK, just a legitimate basis for competitive frustration perhaps.

I’m not sure anyone is hailing to BK’s creepy king mascot anymore anyway. Or, would Brent think otherwise?

In any event, when wearing my consumer hat, the simplicity and the look and feel of McDonald’s billboard ads are hard to beat, in my humble opinion.

We won’t bring up the short-lived Who’s Your Patty billboard campaign from a few years back.