Miami-based Burger King goes back to the future. Here’s what a 1969 Whopper looks like
Miami-based Burger King thinks the way to remake its image visually is to revisit the year man walked on the moon and musicians played Woodstock.
The spirit of 1969 is coming back to the fast-food joint famed for its Whopper. Feeling groovy?
The back to the future concept includes a new logo that swaps out the 1999 logo created in the company’s last major rebranding. That one has a circular blue swish around an off-center, popping burger icon. The new one is a somewhat-updated take on the 1969 version. It once again sports a centered, flat burger in ketchup-red color on a spicy mustard-colored bun that reads “Burger King.”
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There’s also new packaging with fonts in custom serif typeface called “Flame” and retro colors.
Customers should see the new visuals on wrappers and menu boards rolling out starting this month, but they could take time to hit your local BK. The digital media update is already live. BK has already revamped its Twitter page.
The company touts the new logo as “out with the old, in with a new classic” that shows, well, a look at a squishy Burger King logo ‘70s kids might remember.
Over the next few years, Burger King aims to roll out the new design at restaurant locations worldwide.
The BK typeface reboot, designed by the Jones Knowles Ritchie ad agency in New York, mirrors the early ’70s typeface Cooper Black, according to a report in Fast Company.
That imagery — in eye-popping green, brown, red and burnt orange in shapes not unlike the burgers contained within the wrappers — could have boomers feeling flashbacks.
“Design is one of the most essential tools we have for communicating who we are and what we value, and it plays a vital role in creating desire for our food and maximizing guests’ experience,” Raphael Abreu, Restaurant Brands International head of design, said in a statement.
“We wanted to use design to get people to crave our food.”
Of course, you can’t eat the wrappers, no matter how appetizing they may appear.
According to BK, the more modern look is the first complete company rebrand in more than 20 years and is geared to “authentically represent Burger King values.”
The move is also an attempt to make Burger King more competitive among its challengers in the fast-food business. According to Restaurant Business’ chain restaurant report rankings of the 250 top such companies in the U.S. in 2020, Burger King is in fifth place, with year over year sales growing at 2.7% from 2019. This compares to McDonald’s 4.9% and Chick-fil-A’s 13% — the biggest jump in the Top 5.
That puts the Miami powerhouse behind its longest rival, McDonald’s, which held the top spot, but finds BK beaten by Starbucks, Chick-fil-A and Taco Bell.
Beyond the longstanding “Have It Your Way” M.O., this “playfully irreverent” retro-modern jolt means “a commitment to digital-first expression and recent improvements to taste and food quality, through the removal of colors, flavors and preservatives from artificial sources from menu items, as well as an ambitious pledge to environmental sustainability,” the company said in Miami.
The new minimalist logo aims to represent the times and pay homage to the brand’s 67-year-old history.
And nope, this doesn’t yet include the return of another ‘70s favorite, the Yumbo hot ham sandwich. BK briefly brought the Yumbo back in a promotional push in 2014, without its original Styrofoam packaging.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 12:25 PM.
