Don't be surprised if you see the guy pictured standing behind you in the unemployment line. Last week, Burger King's corporate overlords gave their “King” a pink slip. The Washington Post reports, “The move is an effort by the
struggling fast food chain to boost
slumping sales by focusing its marketing on the freshness of its food
rather than the funny-factor of its ads.”
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This is non-news for people like myself who thought Burger King's mascot
was a poor one. Wendy has spunk; Jack is actually funny; and Ronald
McDonald is a classic. But “The King”? With that static grin, he came
off kinda creepy. Bank-robber creepy. And the fact that he's mute makes
one wonder what the guy underneath the mask was plotting against you.
So what now for the deposed “King”? I foresee a job at Medieval Times. Maybe a Tom Selleck needs a stand-in. Meanwhile, the dearth in creepy
fast food mascots is already going to be fulfilled by The Noid.
Before becoming an award-winning restaurant critic for OC Weekly in 2007, Edwin Goei went by the alias “elmomonster” on his blog Monster Munching, in which he once wrote a whole review in haiku.