We lie awake at night asking ourselves the big questions. Like, why do only pizza franchises deliver? Why not burger chains and fried chicken joints?
The answer: Because we don’t live in China. If we did, we could have an endless supply of Big Macs and chicken buckets delivered to our front door. (So that must be what heaven is like.)
Both McDonald’s and KFC have jumped on the delivery wagon in China’s most densely populated cities, where the costs of building drive-thrus are just too high, reports The Wall Street Journal.
“Armies of motorbike delivery drivers outfitted in colorful uniforms and bearing food in specially designed boxes strapped to their backs make their way through bustling traffic to deliver Big Macs and buckets of chicken wings,” states the report.
Currently, more than half of the 3,500 KFC restaurants in China deliver. And KFC officials say they are relying on delivery to further grow the brand in that country. McDonald’s, meanwhile, uses the slogan “If you can’t come to us, we’ll come to you,” to promote its delivery service.
Orders typically arrive in about 15 minutes, and customers pay a flat delivery fee of about $1.
And the best part: There’s no tipping in China.
Attack ad. Think negative ads are only for politicians? Think again.
Fast food franchises are also going on the attack. Take this German TV spot for McDonald’s that has Burger King so riled up it has demanded that it be pulled from distribution.
If you’re too lazy to click the link, we’ll fill you in on the details.
A young boy sits in his local playground everyday trying to enjoy his Big Mac and fries. But each day, bullies come along and steal his food. Then the boy gets a clever idea. Hide the meal in a Burger King bag. The implication, of course, is that nobody wants Burger King.
Kind of brilliant, really.
But Burger King is so incensed, it issued a statement declaring that “McDonald's has broken the rules of comparative advertising by degrading the Burger King brand.”
C’mon, BK, lighten up. It’s not like you’re being called a socialist, a witch, or a traitor – you know, the typical mudslinging.
McDonald's has agreed not to run the spot on TV, but it’s alive and well on YouTube.
A KFC Christmas. Japan has a lot of strange customs. But perhaps the strangest is that the Japanese flock to fast food franchises like KFC for Christmas dinner. In fact, Xmas dinner at KFC is so popular, families have to pre-order their chicken buckets two months in advance.
KFC is by far the most popular Christmas dinner destination, but other fast food joints are muscling in on the tradition. McDonald's, for instance, now offers its own special Christmas meal, heavy on the chicken nuggets of course.
The latest innovation for the holiday season, however, is Burger King’s newly introduced "Pizza-Sized Burger," featuring four Whopper patties cut into slices. It even comes in a pizza box.
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