Fast Food Chains

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June 2009
- Dunkin' Pushes...Donuts
  
  Boston Herald | Jun 1, 09 1:15 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - America may run on Dunkin', but the working-man's coffeeshop would like to remind recession-slapped Americans about the cheap, sugary goodness of the other end of its name. After a decade of emphasizing coffee—which fuels 60% of the chain's revenue—Dunkin has decided it's time to make the doughnuts pay via a $10 million marketing push, reports the Boston Herald. More »
May 2009
- Tough Times Push Chains to Try New Fare
  
  USA Today | May 27, 09 10:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Desperate times are driving chain restaurants to desperate measures—straying from their bread-and-butter dishes and diversifying the menu. KFC now sells grilled chicken, Domino’s offers subs, and McDonald’s dips into the world of espresso coffee, USA Today reports. “This is a defining moment for the industry," says a National Restaurant Association analyst. "The financial crisis has brought with it a redefining of boundaries." More »
- Mickey D's Aims to Mug Starbucks in Europe
  
  Financial Times (UK) | May 27, 09 1:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Just as Starbucks is scaling back its European expansion, McDonald's plans to open hundreds of new outlets offering high-end coffees and pastries on the continent, reports the Financial Times. “We can become the biggest seller of coffee in Europe,” boasted McDonald's chief financial officer. The company plans to launch 1200 new McCafés by the end of the year. The coffee shops operate inside or next to conventional McDonald's restaurants. More »
- Pizzeria in Town Built by Domino's Chief Not Domino's
  
  News-Press (Florida) | May 26, 09 3:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The first pizza shop in Domino’s founder Thomas Monaghan’s Catholic university town of Ave Maria, Fla., will not be a Domino’s, the Fort Myers News-Press reports. Domino’s says the town is covered by another franchise’s delivery radius, and Ave Maria will get a Milano’s instead. And that sit-down restaurant serves alcohol. “Domino’s doesn't allow that,” said Monaghan, who sold Domino’s in 1998. More »
- America's 10 Most Noxious Eats
  
  Minyanville | May 18, 09 1:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - From fries drenched in salad dressing to cheeseburgers mashed between glazed donuts, Americans are not known for always possessing the most refined palettes. Minyanville takes a look at some of the worst offenders. The KFC Famous Bowl, described as tasting like “your nephew’s half-eaten dinner plate”, mixes fried chicken, mashed potatoes, cheese, and gravy into one concoction. More »
- 'Healthy' Fast Food Eaters Mull the Salad, Buy the Fried
  
  Washington Post | May 17, 09 9:20 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - KFC's grilled chicken giveaway may have been a bust, but the company actually got what it wanted—luring health-conscious eaters back to the franchise, argues Steve Almond in the Washington Post. The chicken chain's CEO appeared on Oprah to apologize for pulling the plug on the offer, yet "his 'apology' was more celebratory than contrite," reveling in the unexpected turnout. Among his new customers? Reformed KFC-devotee Almond. More »
- Behind KFC's Marketing Meltdown
  
  Advertising Age | May 11, 09 11:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - How to engineer a marketing disaster: Make offer, rescind offer, turn away hungry customers. Kentucky Fried Chicken’s grilled-chicken promotion was to be the largest launch in the chain’s history but turned out to be a promotional nightmare, Advertising Age reports in a look at how a massive TV ad campaign and an Oprah tie-in has led to increased negative feelings toward KFC’s brand. How does one bungle something as simple as grilled chicken? More »
- McDonald's- Starbucks Java War Brewing
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 5, 09 11:08 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A classy coffee war begins this week, with troubled giant Starbucks facing up-and-comer McDonald’s, the Wall Street Journal reports. Both firms are starting national marketing campaigns, with Starbucks insisting that its coffee is the best while McDonald’s tells consumers that its new lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, and hot chocolates can lift their spirits daily at an affordable price. More »
April 2009
- Why Our Brains Want What's Bad for Us
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 09 1:46 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Former Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler thinks Americans are victims of “conditioned hyper-eating,” and he’s written a book about it: The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite . The Wall Street Journal poked him for some answers about how food can “hijack” our brains, and how cuisine—from snack food to restaurant fare—is designed to entice. More »
- McDonald's Doesn't Own 'Mc' Prefix: Malaysian Judge
  
  Associated Press | Apr 29, 09 4:58 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A Malaysian court ruled that McDonald’s does not control the rights to every word with the “Mc” prefix, the AP reports. The appellate court overturned a 2006 decision that forced a Malaysian restaurant named “McCurry’s” to pay damages to McDonald’s for using the name to associate its business with the fast-food chain. More »
- New Doughnut Puts Krispy Kreme in Sticky Situation
  
  BBC | Apr 24, 09 12:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Krispy Kreme’s limited edition line of Down Under-themed pastries has prompted an indignant protest from the company that makes a beloved Australian cookie, the BBC reports. The Iced Dough-Vo is a tribute to Arnott’s Iced Vo-Vo biscuit, says the doughnut company. But Arnott’s sees it as a breach of its trademark for the fondant, jelly, and coconut concoction. More »
- SpongeBob, Rap Don't Mix in Ad, Parents Tell Burger King
  
  Chicago Sun-Times | Apr 14, 09 2:40 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Burger King is under fire from parents for a new TV ad in which SpongeBob Squarepants, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and rap music video antics combine for an uncomfortable mix of adult and child entertainment, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The spot mixes cartoon clips with shots of “the King,” and women with rectangular-shaped posteriors dancing to a modified version of Mix-A-Lot’s Baby Got Back . More »
- Mexico Slams Burger King for 'Whopper' of an Insult
  
  Associated Press | Apr 13, 09 7:39 PM CDT
  
  (AP) - Mexico is protesting what it says is a whopper of an insult. An advertisement for Burger King's chili-flavored "Texican" burger that has run in Europe shows a small wrestler dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy who boosts him up to reach high shelves and clean tall windows. "The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican," a narrator's voice says. More »
March 2009
- Group Cracks Down on McDonald's Eggs
  
  Gourmet | Mar 30, 09 2:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - McDonald's will soon be faced with an epic decision: Which comes first, the cage-free chicken or the profit margin? The Humane Society plans to press the fast-food behemoth at a shareholder meeting in May to use cage-free eggs, but the fast food giant’s response is anything but certain, Gourmet reports. Caged hens are “arguably the most abused animals in all agribusiness,” the group said. More »
- Student Obesity Jumps in Schools Near Fast-Food Joints
  
  Los Angeles Times | Mar 23, 09 12:20 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Students are more likely to be obese when their schools are located within a tenth of a mile of fast-food restaurants, researchers found. In a study of more than a million California ninth-graders over 8 years, they found that the incidence of obesity at schools near the restaurants was 5.2% higher than the state average, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Aussie Critics Rip Micky D's McMath Tutoring
  
  Guardian (UK) | Mar 20, 09 7:47 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nutritionists and educators are having trouble swallowing McDonald's sponsorship of an online math program, the Guardian reports. The tutoring program, available free to schools and students across Australia, features the golden arches logo on its front page. Australia's government commended McDonald's for providing the resource, but critics see it as nothing more than a marketing campaign, notes the Australia News Network. More »
- PETA Fumes at KFC Offer of Statue to Cubs
  
  Deadspin | Mar 13, 09 4:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The recent recovery of a statue of KFC’s Col. Sanders from a Japanese river is said to have ended a curse on a baseball team there. Which gave the company a clever idea: offer the effigy to the notably hexed Chicago Cubs, Deadspin reports. PETA strenuously objects. “If one irritated goat could cause a decades-long curse, just imagine what billions of angry chickens could do,” the animal-rights organization writes. More »
- Col. Sanders Gives Hope to Baseball Fans
  
  Mainichi Daily News (Japan) | Mar 11, 09 2:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A statue of KFC founder Colonel Sanders tossed into a river in Osaka, Japan, over 2 decades ago has been recovered, possibly ending the "curse" that's widely believed to be shadowing the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, the Mainichi Daily News reports. Jubilant fans tore the mascot from its moorings after a big win in 1985, and the Tigers haven’t won a Japan Series since. More »
- Woman Who Called 911 Over McNuggets Gets Refund
  
  TCPalm | Mar 4, 09 1:52 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Latreasa Goodman will at long last get her refund, McDonald's announced today. The 27-year-old called 911 three times last week, enraged because McDonald's was out of the Chicken McNuggets she had ordered and paid for, but wouldn’t give her a refund. “This is an emergency!” she told the operator. “If I would have known they didn’t have McNuggets, I wouldn’t have given my money, and now she wants to give me a McDouble, but I don’t want one. This is an emergency.” More »
February 2009
- McDonald's Won't Pay Hospital Bills of Hero Employee
  
  Arkansas Times | Feb 19, 09 5:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - It doesn't pay to be a hero, sometimes. A McDonald's employee who stepped in to prevent a man from beating up a woman in the restaurant got shot multiple times and ended up with $300,000 in medical bills. Now McDonald's says it's won't pay up because his injuries "did not arise out of or within the course and scope of his employment," the Arkansas Times reports. More »