The Creepy Burger King Mascot Bites the Dust

An image of "The Burger King," used in an Internet meme with the "Where is your God now?" tag line.<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/invisible_al/89845666/">invisible_al</a>/Flickr

Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily.

“The King” has just abdicated his television throne. On Friday, Burger King announced that it has discontinued appearances of its sneaky, off-putting, and large-headed mascot, in an attempt to revamp their advertising strategy.

According to the Associated Press, the character’s farewell is part of the struggling fast food giant’s effort to “refocus its marketing” in order to reach new customers after declining sales. The new series of ads—produced after Burger King changed advertising agencies in July—will start airing this weekend and will keep the focus on BK burgers.

Honestly, the overthrow of the King is long overdue. The character, which debuted in 2003, has been blamed before for the company’s sagging profits by such sources as The Atlantic and Gawker, which noted that the commercials were “bizarre” and “vaguely disturbing.”

Even Friday’s impartial AP obit makes the King seem like a huge, law-breaking nuisance that nobody’s going to miss, noting that he “recently has become a more prevalent and somewhat creepy presence in ads—showing up in people’s beds and peeping in their windows.”

Still, the mascot managed to take on a life of its own over the last seven years, appearing in several Xbox 360 games, inspiring satirical Internet memes, and even getting its own Simpsons incarnation.

To honor the toppling of the long-ruling monarch, here is a quick video tribute to the thoroughly unsettling ad-culture fixture. Because all of the following ads include situations that in real life would result in pepper spray and arraignments, it’s rather surprising that Burger King stuck by him for nearly a decade.

Here’s a 30-second ad in which he gets into bed with a complete stranger without the man’s consent:

In this video, his new target—alone, unsuspecting, in the dark, and at an ATM—understandably assumes His Majesty is there to attack him:

Below, “the King” assumes the role of a trespassing Peeping Tom:

And at the end of this one, His Royal Highness nearly commits a hate crime:

DEFEND THE TRUTH. DEFEND JOURNALISM.

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

DEFEND THE TRUTH. DEFEND JOURNALISM.

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things it doesn’t like—which is most things that are true.

We’ll say it loud and clear: At Mother Jones, no one gets to tell us what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please do your part and help us reach our $150,000 membership goal by May 31.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate