The advertisement, which puts a hip-hop spin on a classic jingle from the 1970s, announced a change in Burger King's tagline, from "Have it Your Way" to "You Rule." Starting on October 10, it marked the chain's first significant commercial campaign under its $400 million "Reclaim the Flame" comeback plan, which involves $150 million on advertising and digital channels and $250 million on technology and physical restaurant upgrades.
Zahra Nurani, Burger King's vice president of marketing communications, said the brand was fortunate to have a "perfect storm" of a catchy tune that became "quite the earworm" and thoughtful media placement during the American Football season.
Nurani said that Burger King is on a journey of reintroducing its brand to America. As the company investigated how to present itself to customers, it felt there was no better way than to go back to its roots.
Through the jingle and the evolved tagline, "You Rule," the Whopper is brought front and centre, something Burger King has aimed for during the past couple of years.
"We are the home of the Whopper," said Nurani. "We are the originators of ‘Have it Your Way,’ and we have this beautiful jingle that was the launch of ‘Have it your Way’ in the storytelling around what ‘Have It your Way’ was. We just found a huge opportunity to really think about that jingle, modernise that jingle, and reconnect with our consumers."
In terms of which customers the commercials are targeting, Nurani describes Burger King as a "mass brand." And because of that, it's careful about not alienating guests. It's a balance of igniting love in a new generation of Whopper customers, but also celebrating existing consumers as well. Nurani believes the advertisements find this middle ground, especially after hearing stories of kids singing the jingle in their classrooms and families dancing in their living rooms.
Nurani understands the gravity of moving to a new tagline in "You Rule" after so many decades. But she emphasises that "Have it Your Way" remains foundational to the brand, and that it's not going away. The executive wouldn't even call it a switch. Nurani sees the new commercials as an amplification of Burger King's advertising.
The chain wants guests to know that "Have it Your Way" goes beyond production customisation. There's an emotional connection; Burger King wants guests to feel like they're the number one priority. Before the jingle was released, it was pressure tested with customers and well-received. The brand experienced similar success as the commercial entered households nationwide. Burger King's United States same-store sales rose five percent in the fourth quarter, on top of 1.8 percent growth in 2021. It's a sequential improvement from the third quarter when comps lifted four percent.
Nurani said there are "endless possibilities" with the new jingle, but adds that its longevity depends on the guests' perspective.
"So as long as they continue to want more from us, we'll continue to deliver on that," Nurani said. "And when they feel that they've had enough and we need to evolve, then we'll do just that. So we're going to continue to keep our eyes open or our ears posted and listen to what they want."
