BK Dethrones the King

MIAMI -- Burger King Corp. is saying goodbye to the King in the first of many steps to reinvent itself over the next year, and refocus on a customer base it had all but forgotten: moms. According to USA Today, the fast-food chain will roll out a new commercial this weekend touting fresh and healthy food.

Television viewers will no longer see the King, a mainstay in Burger King commercials for years. Instead, the ad for its new California Whopper with guacamole, created by advertising agency McGarryBowen, will only show the sights and sounds of fresh ingredients being washed, sliced and diced, the newspaper reported. No words are spoken in the entire commercial. The only audio is pulsating music.

Ron Paul, president of consulting firm Technomic, told USA Today that Burger King is attempting to capitalize on the "Whole Foods effect," something McDonald's, Target, 7-Eleven and Subway have done successfully. "Fresh is it," he said.

"People want a reason to go back to Burger King," Alex Macedo, the fast-food purveyor's senior marketing vice president, said in the report. "There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon."

The new $4.49 California Whopper will certainly be fresh. Whether it is healthy is more debatable. The burger, featuring guacamole, Swiss cheese and bacon, contains 580 calories, 56 grams of fat and 50 grams of carbs.

As part of its new marketing campaign, Burger King will also reintroduce its Breakfast Croissan'wich.