'Global warming is baloney' signs put the heat on Burger King

[depakid]

Source: The Guardian



A row between the fast food giant Burger King and one of its major franchise owners has erupted over roadside signs proclaiming "global warming is baloney". The franchisee, a Memphis-based company called the Mirabile Investment Corporation (MIC) that owns more than 40 Burger Kings across Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi, has described Burger King as acting "kinda like cockroaches" over the controversy. MIC says it does not believe Burger King has the authority to make it take the signs down.

The dispute began to sizzle last week, when a local newspaper reporter in Memphis, Tennessee, noticed the signs outside two restaurants in the city and contacted the corporation to establish if the message represented its official viewpoint. Burger King's headquarters in Miami said it did not, adding that it had ordered MIC to take the signs down.

But a few days later readers of the Memphis paper said they had seen about a dozen Burger King restaurants across the state displaying the signs and that some had yet to be taken down. Media attempts to contact MIC to establish why it was taking an apparently defiant stance were rebuffed, but the Guardian managed to grill MIC's marketing president, John McNelis.

"I would think would run from any form of controversy kinda like cockroaches when the lights get turned on," said Mr McNelis. "I'm not aware of any direction that they gave the franchisee and I don't think they have the authority to do it." McNelis added: "The management team can put the message up there if they want to. It is private property and here in the US we do have some rights. Notwithstanding a franchise agreement, I could load a Brinks vehicle with I've got so many of them. By the time the Burger King lawyers work out how to make that stick we'd be in the year 2020."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/05/burger-king-global-warming-us

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Aside from being stupid (and apparently catering to the stupid) my bet is that the franchisees are going to learn an expensive legal lesson about these sorts of contracts.

[lapfog_1]

1. He can put up any sign he likes

just as soon as he breaks the franchise contract and removes anything that gives the customer the impression that they are walking into a Burger King. That includes not only the name of the franchise, but ANY "brand" material, up to and including the color scheme, uniforms of the crew, the physical layout of the restaurant, etc.

I once worked for a CAD company who had a architect firm as a client that did NOTHING but design McDonald's franchises to "conform" to franchise agreements. The amount of variation from franchise to franchise was very, very limited. All enforced by franchise contract.

On the plus side, the architect firm was located in Windsor, Canada... and it was almost entirely staffed by young women... I volunteered to go troubleshoot their CAD systems anytime they wanted!

[depakid]

5. I bet there's a clause in there about disparaging the brand

[Downwinder]

6. You've seen the commercials, how can you disparage the King? n/t

[depakid]

7. ....

:rofl:

[razorman]

34. Is anyone else as creeped out as I am by those commercials?

That "King" character is absolutely freakish.

[Hulk]

2. That would be enough to make me drive past.

What idiots. Figures it happens in Memphis, however. Some of these states never cease to wonder when it comes to having their heads up their asses in mass.

[chatnoir]

3. Wait... is that English that he's speaking?

I couldn't make sense of most of it.

[Downwinder]

4. I would expect this to prompt some response signs.

Burger King is full of it.

[Cha]

10. "Burger King is contributing

to Global Warming".

[undeterred]

8. Warmed over baloney would be better than their burgers.

So maybe they can rework the slogan and their menu.

[RainDog]

9. wow. a climate specialist and a home for other whoppers

I'd love to see this franchise owner go at it with an actual scientist. the burger king would end up in a (metaphorical) bloody pulp - which could then be char-broiled and served your way.

[orleans]

11. i know i sure as hell wouldn't be going there

my attitude would be more like: FUCK YOU!

[Libertas1776]

12. Even our burger franchises are not safe

from the dumbfuckery that prevails in the south. (No offense to Southern DUers.)

[truthisfreedom]

13. That sign says "I am an idiot" to 95% of the people who drive by, and turns off customers.

More power to them. Keep the sign up forever.

[Canuckistanian]

30. Exactly, I'd avoid that place like the plague

I don't know what kind of new business the owner is trying to attract, but it can't be lucrative.

[soupkitchen]

14. Selling Whoppers

Is there business

[AlbertCat]

18. Is there business

What does this mean? Is it a question?

[Wednesdays]

31. Yup, and I'm sure they're selling BOATLOADS more burgers now,

do you agree?

[tclambert]

15. Well, Burger King is the Home of the Whopper.

It doesn't just refer to burgers anymore.

[muntrv]

16. All BK can do is revoke the franchises.

[scentopine]

17. You say Baloney, I say Bologna

From the article:

He continued: "Burger King can bluster all they want about what they can tell the franchisee to do, but we have free-speech rights in this country so I don't think there's any concerns."

If an employee came in with a tee shirt that said Southern Baptists are Baloney, I bet he would be fired in 5 seconds and wouldn't be able to hire fancy lawyers to defend him. Corporations do have more rights than citizens. Those whacky slave states, still fighting the civil war. And reality.

[AlbertCat]

19. Those whacky slave states, still fighting the civil war. And reality.

How about those wacky states who never had slavery and/or weren't even states in the 1860s who are still fighting the Civil War and reality? Whoo boy!

[tucsonlib]

20. Another Successful Ad Campaign, No Doubt

Sure to increase sales. Remember how popular their "Baby Seal Burger" promotion was last year?...


:tinfoilhat:

[farmboxer]

21. I guess they don't want Democrats to eat there?

I would starve before eating there. Bush put America behind 8 years and I have had enough.

[NBachers]

22. Burger King can smack that shithead down if they want

We had an excellent restaurant here in San Francisco called Falafel King. Burger King, I kid you not, sued the guy because he was trespassing on the Burger King trademark name. And Burger King won. The guy changed the restaurant's name to King of Falafel. I ate there a couple of weeks ago. Every time I walk in it's like I'm giving the finger and saying, "Fuck You Burger King. I'll take my business here, you douchebags."

[RedCloud]

23. We serve burgers, not warmed up baloney...

Maybe some nearby competitor can take advantage of that sign,

[and-justice-for-all]

24. Its people like that who will come screaming and crying when the shit hits the fan

dumb bastards.

[DarbyUSMC]

25. Maybe it means something else. Open 24 hours follows the statement.

They're staying open despite many places shutting off the lights in their buildings at night and so forth, to conserve energy. So maybe they are saying, phooey on global warming, our drive thru is open all night. I don't go to Burger King but it seems dubious that it is a political statement. They might have said "Screw Global Warming; We're open 24/7."

That's the view from here.

[WeDidIt]

26. What a fucking moron

The first amendment protects your freedom of speech from governmental intervention.

Franchise contracts puts the onus on the franchisee to follow direction from the corporate office, especially where corporate image is concerned.

HE can have every last franchise license pulled over his bullshit.

[Mari333]

27. Global Warming is Baloney Global Warming is Baloney

Global Warming is Baloney Global Warming is Baloney
you are getting sleepy sleepy sleepy

[surrealAmerican]

28. As an aside ...

did he observe that cockroach behavior in his restaurants? I'm thinking somebody's due a visit by the health inspector.

[trapper914]

29. Jhn McNelis can take solace...

...in the fact that he'll become a Fox News superstar (a la Joe the Plumber) after he gets his franchises pulled. What a tool.

[eppur_se_muova]

32. This is defaming the brand name ... LAWSUIT in big, flaming capital letters. nt

[chaska]

33. I hate both sides in this, but these A'holes are about to learn what we here already know...

corporations own our asses.