Chicago is not a McDonald’s town anymore. It hasn’t been for a while since the golden arches moved their main account to Wieden + Kennedy, New York. But all of that has changed as there is a new King in town. Today, Restaurant Brands International named our friends at OKRP as its creative AOR for Burger King.
Omnicom Group’s PHD was named media agency for the fast-food giant and its RBI portfolio brands including Popeyes U.S. & Canada and Tim Hortons U.S.
Both strategic business partners will help in the next stage of growth to achieve world-class relevance with today’s guests and to serve as true extensions of the internal marketing teams.
OKRP joins Burger King U.S. with intentions to help reintroduce the iconic brand — through campaigns and messaging that uniquely reflect its modern and relevant identity.
According to a statement from RBI OKRP was chosen because, “the agency brings an incredible depth of restaurant experience, through proven leadership in creating best-in-class category and advertising strategy, food differentiation, and creative excellence that increases brand love. Their leadership strength and culture align with the path Burger King is focused on in becoming guest-obsessed, driving relevancy and authenticity in culture, achieving business objectives and reclaiming Burger King’s status as an iconic brand.“
“The team is working to evolve and build on the iconic Burger King brand by optimizing media firepower and modernizing the ‘Home of the Whopper’,” said Tom Curtis, President of Burger King North America. “To further our effective messaging strategy, we are locking arms with veterans of this industry who heard us loud and clear when we asked for strategic business partners equipped with the speed, data, insights, creativity and innovation to help us drive growth.”
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RBI partnered with growth consultancy ID Comms through the agency RFP process. For Burger King U.S., the review came after eight years with DAVID and Horizon, who served as incredible partners on the business during their time.
Horizon will continue to serve as the partner for Burger King Canada. PHD replaces Horizon on the PLK side, following a five-year relationship. Popeyes will retain GUT as its creative agency of record.
For Tim Hortons U.S., PHD will also take over duties from Horizon, who had been working with the brand in the U.S. since 2016. Tim Hortons Canada retains some of the strongest agency partners in Canada — with GUT serving as the brand’s creative agency of record, Horizon for traditional media and Media Monks for digital media — all driving strong in-market exposure and presence for Tims in the country.
According to AdAge, who broke the story, finalists for the creative account included 360i, Fig, and incumbent David, who did award-winning work for the brand. Some of the work included the Cannes-winning Moldy Whopper.
Ad Age also says BK lost its number two status to Wendy’s in 2020.
Congrats to the OKRP team. Sorry, BKRP.
Colin Costello is the West Coast Editor of Reel 360. Contact him at colin@reel360.com or follow him on Twitter at @colinthewriter1
