Is it just me...

[Katcracker]

Nope.. not you at all... the one with the burger king on the tall building construction seriously freaks me out

All the other ones were just weird... this one was freaky scary.... and he tries to push the guy off at the end!!!! Not the kind of service I want.

 

[StupidSmurf]

The Burger King is creepy.

And yet, the Burger King is funny.

BK is my least favorite fast food joint, but I'll give them kudos on the comedy stylings of those commercials.

The "Herb" commercials from the 80's were a horrible thing, and possible evidence that God hates us. Firing the PR firm that made those commericals was scarcely punishment enough. The words "drawn" and "quartered" come to mind.

I do recall when the Burger King was a "real" guy. But that was just a lame attempt to match Ronald McDonald, who is neither as funny as a real clown, nor as creepy as a real clown. He's just a grinning schmuck in white greasepaint.

Now, one burger character that was WAY creepy, then was softened up to make him more kid-friendly, was/is The Hamburglar. My gawd, does anyone else remember what a frightening looking SOB he was? Wow...he looked like a guy, but vaguely rat-faced. Probably the best representation of a were-rat I've seen to date. And instead of saying "Robble robble", like that round-faced, grinning sped that McD's has these days, the old Hamburglar was always spouting off this muttering gibberish which sounded like a speeded-up prayer to Satan or like he was reading aloud from the Necromonicon.

 

[Desdichado]

Read on, it's funny.

The Story of the Freaky BK King

Holy cow. I may never eat another hamburger again. Pupil poke?!

 

[kenobi65]

Now, one burger character that was WAY creepy, then was softened up to make him more kid-friendly, was/is The Hamburglar. My gawd, does anyone else remember what a frightening looking SOB he was?

LOL, that's right...and back then, the "Fry Guys" were called the "French Fry Goblins."

That whole McDonaldland "mythos" was the center of a big intellectual-property lawsuit back in the 1970s.

In 1969/1970, one of the hottest kids' shows on Saturday morning TV was "H.R. Pufnstuf", by Sid and Marty Krofft (who would later go on to do shows like "Lidsville", "Sigmund the Sea Monster", and "Land of the Lost"). If you never got a chance to watch Pufnstuf, all I can say is that it was a kid show on acid. (Keep in mind that it *was* the late 60s...)

Anyway, McDonald's, and their ad agency at that time, approached Sid and Marty, asking them to put together a proposal for using the characters from "H.R. Pufnstuf" as promotional devices for McDonald's (which was, at that point, just really taking off). The Kroffts put together a detailed proposal, submitted it, and were told, "thanks, but no thanks."

Some months later, McDonald's premiered their "McDonaldland" TV ads, featuring a slew of characters (Mayor McCheese, Grimace, Hamburglar, etc.) The Kroffts saw this, and said, "we've been ripped off!" (Take a look at Mayor McCheese, then take a look at H.R. Pufnstuf...the similarities are pretty clear.)

The courts agreed, and awarded the Kroffts a sizeable sum.

 

[StupidSmurf]

LOL, that's right...and back then, the "Fry Guys" were called the "French Fry Goblins."

That whole McDonaldland "mythos" was the center of a big intellectual-property lawsuit back in the 1970s.

In 1969/1970, one of the hottest kids' shows on Saturday morning TV was "H.R. Pufnstuf", by Sid and Marty Krofft (who would later go on to do shows like "Lidsville", "Sigmund the Sea Monster", and "Land of the Lost"). If you never got a chance to watch Pufnstuf, all I can say is that it was a kid show on acid. (Keep in mind that it *was* the late 60s...)

Anyway, McDonald's, and their ad agency at that time, approached Sid and Marty, asking them to put together a proposal for using the characters from "H.R. Pufnstuf" as promotional devices for McDonald's (which was, at that point, just really taking off). The Kroffts put together a detailed proposal, submitted it, and were told, "thanks, but no thanks."

Some months later, McDonald's premiered their "McDonaldland" TV ads, featuring a slew of characters (Mayor McCheese, Grimace, Hamburglar, etc.) The Kroffts saw this, and said, "we've been ripped off!" (Take a look at Mayor McCheese, then take a look at H.R. Pufnstuf...the similarities are pretty clear.)

The courts agreed, and awarded the Kroffts a sizeable sum.

Wow...I never knew that!

But thanks for reminding me of the fry goblins! And hey...remember when Grimace was called The Evil Grimace? And he stole shakes?

So let's see...the Fry Goblins are now just good ol' Fry Guys....Grimace isn't evil...and the Hamburglar looks less rat-like and doesn't say "Cthulhu Ftaghn" anymore. Could it be that Mayor McCheese's new Anti-Crime initiative is finally paying off? Do you remember that there was also a Police Chief? I think his name was actually Big Mac. But..::looks shiftily to the right and left:: ...we don't SEE him anymore. Perhaps he's gone undercover. Perhaps McDonaldland now has SECRET Police....?

The truth is out there....

 

[Chaldfont]

I still think its funny that a restaurant has a mascot named "Grimace."

 

[Ranger REG]

Did you guys see the one earlier this summer with Star Wars Ep III came out? They had Vader and The King face to face. They cut back-and-forth from Vader's breathing and the guy in The King mask breathing.

Comedy genius.

Not really. Had Vader cut him down, then it is genius. Of course, someone once told me I have a dark sense of humor.

 

[wingsandsword]

I find that thing really, really creepy too. Yes, in the Serial-Killer sort of way. In the "if that happened to me I'd be calling the cops" sort of way. I guess in one sense of the word it is effective advertising, since it gets people talking about them and people certainly recognize their ads.

But it doesn't make me want to eat their food. I've refused to eat at Burger King ever since they "improved" their french fries to taste much, much worse. Breaded potato-flavored french fries? Naah, if I want good fast-food fries I'll go to Wendy's (which IMO has the highest quality fast-food Burgers & Fries of all the major chains).

I'd rather they sink that money into actually making their food better, like buying better quality ingredients. Stupid & creepy mascots don't make me want to eat at a place, they make me want to actively avoid it.

Oh, and yes Ronald McDonald is a little creepy too, not as much, at least he talks. People eat at McDonalds because it's almost everywhere, their strength is location and name recognition, certainly not quality of their food.

 

[ecliptic]

The creepy king rules.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

Dude, the BK King guy is awesome and hilarious. I never eat at burger king (too expensive for average food) but I love their commercials, funniest stuff on TV commercials in a long time.