The (Burger) King and I

Have you seen this man? Last spotted putting extra cash in pockets.

That's what it says on the Burger King take-out bag shown below. Certainly my attention was captured -- enough so that I had to learn more about this curious new promotion. Thus I entered the local Burger King with both hunger and optimism, equally lured in by the whiff of flame-broiled Whoppers and the promise of a cash give-away.

The King and I have faced off before. Sometimes I leave victoriously, and other times the King gets the best of me. This would be our first showdown in 2009.

A burger was had during my visit. It was broiled up just right, fulfilling my usual expectations. But would The King grant me the extra cash, or would I leave empty-handed? Leaving empty-stomached, at least, was not an option.

Despite the blurb on the bag, I can undoubtedly confirm that NO EXTRA CASH was added to my pockets on this occasion. In reality, my nemesis The King absconded with six bucks from my wallet in exchange for a Double Whopper meal. Sure there was cheese and bacon for an extra fee, and the requisite french fries and Dr. Pepper stood by in a supporting role. But let's not kid ourselves -- the cash, MY cash, was gone!

Minutes later, as the smoke cleared from the broiler, The King smirked with folded arms from behind the counter. In the aftermath I felt more like the shards of my own cast-off lettuce than the victor in a great battle. Full but defeated, I crumpled my burger wrapper in preparation for a deposit in the nearby trash can. Today's victory, including my six dollars, would go to The King. Or so it seemed.

Perhaps the joke was on him, as he was left holding the onions. Yes, I'll cling to that until next time.

Watch out King! I will return.

Saturday Commercial Break #13: Burger Chef

"Whatcha gonna get at Burger Chef?" was a slogan used by the defunct Burger Chef restaurant chain. Burger Chef was a fun place with a large cast of advertising characters, including Burger Chef and Jeff in this commercial from 1974.

Burger Chef was an early pioneer in the concept of kids' meals, offering their Fun Burgers and Fun Meals aimed at kids with a smaller appetite. The meals included a fun toy, sticker or comic book to enjoy. Burger Chef was doing this in the early 1970s. By comparison, McDonald's was just starting their test market of Happy Meals in 1977.

Burger Chef was bought by Hardee's hamburger chain and eventually all Burger Chefs either converted to Hardee's or were closed down in the 1980s.

Well here's the commercial of the week, uploaded to YouTube by WookieCookie.

For more fun, check out the Burger Chef group on Flickr.

Saturday Commercial Break #11: McDonald's

This week's commercial pick is a Wild West themed trip for the McDonaldLand friends. Ronald McDonald, Mayor McCheese, Captain Crook and the Hamburglar star in this one from 1976.

This was uploaded to YouTube by Namzso1.

I've always been a big fan of 1970s McDonaldLand. Feel free to post a comment with your memories from this era.

Saturday Commercial Break #6: Hardee's

This week's Saturday Commercial Break is from Hardee's restaurants in 1972. The man behind the counter is enthusiastically telling customers about the Hardee's Huskee Jr. burger.

This was uploaded to YouTube by alecwally23.

I'd love to find some '70s Hardee's commercials with the old characters named Gilbert Giddyup and Speedy McGreedy. If anyone knows of any, please let me know.