Case Study IIMK/CS/126/MM/2021/04 - Burger King's New Logo - A Success or a missed opportunity - IIM Kozhikode

Case Study

                                      IIMK/CS/126/MM/2021/04

                                         March 2021
                   Burger King’s New Logo – A Success or a missed opportunity

                                                  Atanu Adhikari1

1
Professor, Marketing Management Area at the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, India. IIMK Campus P.O.,
Kozhikode, Kerala 673 570, India; Email: atanu.adhikari@iimk.ac.in; Phone Number (+91) 495 - 2809241

Burger King’s New Logo – A Success or a missed opportunity

Introduction

Recently, Burger King (BK) came up with a new visual design that will be present
throughout all the touchpoints of its guest experience. A press announcement claims that
the design is inspired by real food and the look commemorates the first complete rebrand
in over a period of twenty (20) years. The old logo was launched in the year 1999. The
company felt that the new one is a tribute to the brand’s design heritage (Exhibit 1).

The fast-food chain’s world-famous logo has undergone five redesigns since its inception
and it took the brand 16 years to eventually find its signature style. Three different logos
were created during the period between 1953 to 1969. In the year 1969, Burger King
redesigned the logo which witnessed immense success. And after this achievement the
company did not implement any major alteration to their logo design. They simply
improved upon and adapted the iconic emblem while keeping the colour palette and the
compositions unchanged.

However, the experts’ opinions were mixed. Some opined that the logo has evolved
during the brand’s lifetime and seems to have come back full circle, returning to the
rudimentary. Some industry experts mentioned that the logo makes feel nostalgic because
the colours and the typeface take back to a time when brands sported bright loud primary
colours. However, some called the design rudimentary, opining that it was a missed
opportunity. They said that the new logo and design is neither irreverent nor playful.

Company Background

Burger King (BK) is an American multinational Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain
with its headquarters based in Miami-Dade County, Florida, USA. The company was
founded in 1953 and it was initially named Insta-Burger King. It was established as a
restaurant chain in Jacksonville, Florida. However, in the year 1954, the company
experienced financial difficulties and it was during this time that two of the company’s
Miami franchisees David Edgerton and James McLamore purchased the company and
renamed it "Burger King". The restaurant is at present one of the most popular fast-food
brands across the globe with as many as 18 locations the world over. The company is at
the moment owned by Restaurant Brands International, headquartered in Florida, and has
almost 35 thousand employees working for them.

For any company, its visual identity is of utmost importance because it is a reflection of
the very essence of the company. For Burger King as well, it has been the same. The
company is renowned the world over not only for its products but for its iconic logo as
well, which is representative of its culture and heritage.

Burger King's old and new logo

The analysts mention that the redesign is intended to highlight digital-first expression as
well as refer to recent improvements in taste and food quality. The new logo will be
visible at outlets and on food packaging with immediate effect. The BK crew will also
get to don a redesigned uniform. The new logo is homage to the brand’s design heritage,
a heritage which was started with the design of the old logo, launched in the year 1999.

The selected colours are inspired by BK’s flame-grilling process and their use of fresh
ingredients in their products. The new photography is meant to be hyper textured and is
intended to bring forth the sensory facet of the food. BK’s new proprietary brand font is
(appropriately) called 'Flame' and is inspired by the rounded shapes of its food.

“Design is one of the most essential tools we have for communicating who we are and
what we value, and it plays a vital role in creating desire for our food and maximising
guests’ experience,” said Rapha Abreu, VP, global head of design at restaurant brands
international - Burger King, Popeyes and Tim Hortons. “We wanted to use design to get
people to crave our food; its flame-grilling process and taste."

Guests will start seeing the new visual identity soon. Over the next few years, BK aims to
implement this new design at restaurant locations globally.

Background of the old logos

A year after the first restaurant was opened, original owners Keith J. Kramer and
Matthew Burns created the design of the brand’s first logo – a design that featured the
restaurant’s name in a bold, all-caps font set beneath a half-circle sun. However, the
chain was purchased just a year later by James Mc Lamore and David R. Edgerton. The
new owners went on to redesign the logo in a minimalist manner that presented only the
restaurant’s name in a custom sans-serif typeface.

In early 2021, Burger King announced that it has created a logo for the company and its
products. The logo is stylistically simple and has gone back in time with some slight
changes to the colour and shape. BK will start to implement the new logo in their
advertisements, packaging as well as in signage. It will take several years to completely
deploy the New Burger King Logo in over 19,000 locations across the globe. The earlier
design remained the company logo for three years when again Burger King decided to
refurbish it. The new design presented the Burger King mascot sitting atop a burger and
it also included the name of the restaurant and a tag line which read “Home of the
Whopper”.

This design continued to be the company logo for the ensuing twelve years. At this
juncture Burger King decided to redesign the logo once again. So, in 1969, a new logo

was designed and implemented by the restaurant which featured the name “Burger King”
positioned between two buns. This design resembles the present logo to quite an extent.
Again, in the year 1994, this logo underwent few modifications such as the alteration in
the colour scheme. And with all the alterations to their liking, the company finally settled
for a logo in the year 1999. The present logo of the restaurant still showcases the name of
the company which is inserted in the middle of two buns but the shapes of the buns have
been altered. The buns are more rounded in shape and come in brighter colours with a
blue line encircling a major portion of the logo. This design has been in use by Burger
King for the last twenty-one years now and has not undergone any amendment of any
kind during the period.

Burger King, all this while, has adopted very belligerent marketing strategies and this has
been made possible mostly because of their quintessential mascot and the novelty of their
logo. Burger King has implemented these brand building constituents across all of their
present marketing practices which include commercials, adverts, social media marketing
and others.

Again, an important function of a restaurant’s logo is also to attract the customers who
drive by their location. Keeping this vital function in view, restaurants need to create a
recognizable logo and place it on tall billboards near their locations. And by
implementing this strategy, Burger King is able to market themselves to anyone who
happens to drive past using their logo alone. In addition to using their logo as a central
element in all of their marketing pursuits and a means of attracting customers on the
road, Burger King has also taken advantage of their logo’s licensing by offering a wide
range of Burger King apparels.

The Burger King logo highlights the company’s presence as a modern and powerful one,
again one which values and respects tradition and legacy. Its emblem is a perfect
reflection of the company’s nature and purpose, which can be instantly recognized the
world over.

1953 — 1954

The company, known as Insta Burger King (the erstwhile name of the company) during
the first year of its existence, got its first logo in the year 1953. It was a bold all-caps
wordmark with half of the sun, rising from it. A bright and friendly emblem, which
stayed with the brand for only a year.

1954 — 1957

After the acquisition of the restaurants by David Edgerton and James Mc Lamore, the
name of the restaurant was changed to Burger King and the logo was also altered to a
minimalist bold inscription in a custom sans-serif typeface, with uneven edges of the
letters. It was a simple logo, without any additional details, which went on to become the
symbol of the brand for the next three years.

1957 — 1969

In 1957, the Burger King logo was again altered. A change was made to the typeface and
the colours used in the design. The previous red lettering of the name “Burger King” was
now given an ochre background. The new logo appeared lively and was also easily
identifiable. The font was changed with the letters getting a more daring and smarter
look: it was something close to the modern sans-serif TILT font, with lively and spirited
letters. The new logo showcased the “Home of the Whopper” tagline in a subtle manner,
where all the words except for “Whopper” were in black.

1969 — 1994

In 1969, the prototype of the iconic Bun logo was created. The red bold lettering was
placed in two levels between two halves of ochre-colored buns. The colour palette was
adapted from the previous version of the logo, yet the style, composition, and shape were
altogether different. The inscription was now executed in a bold rounded sans-serif
typeface with sleek smooth lines. The “King” part was enlarged, in order to create a
better balance between the layers.

1994 — 1999

Again, in the year 1994, the company refined its logo. The typeface became more
traditional and solid, while the ochre colour of the buns was changed to a bright orange,
making the logo appear more energetic and stronger. The red and orange colour palette
symbolizes passion and the free spirit of the young, aiming at showcasing the main
audience and customers of the company. The name “Burger King” appears in capital
letters in a sans-serif typeface which is rounded and in bold. This typeface is similar to
the VAG Rounded Extra Bold font. However, there is a slight digression in the way the
letters “G” and “R” have been used. The letters “G” and the tails of both the “R”s have
been compressed to make the logo appear more firm and poised. Burger King has still
been using this logo in a few countries where it is identifiable as the new logo of the
company.

1999 — Today

In 1999, the Burger King logo was redesigned by Sterling Brands agency. The wordmark
between the bun-halves was placed diagonally. The buns were yellow-coloured with few
white strokes on the bun-halves. The red lettering was enlarged with the word “king”
being larger than the word “burger” and executed in a new modern sans-serif typeface
with sleek lines and sharp angles. Today’s version of the logo has a rounded shape,
unlike the previous ones. The emblem has a blue C-shape line, framing it on the left, like
an accent, making the logo appear much brighter and more professional, resonating
confidence and a sense of expertise. The Burger King logo is one of the most iconic
graphic identity designs in history. It has been perfectly composed in terms of colour and
shapes, and conjures an amiable feeling as well as exudes warmth.

2021 — Today

                            Reference: https://1000logos.net/burger-king-logo/

Background of the new logo

Burger King's identity is being given a makeover, with its first new logo being designed
in more than twenty years. The colours which are being used in the new design have been
inspired by the restaurant’s "real and delicious food”. Burger King revealed their new
logo on Thursday which has been influenced by their vintage design and is a tribute to
the company’s tradition and heritage. Though redesigned, the new logo is recognizable

and will be featured in its food packaging, the uniforms of the employees, the signage as
well as the proposed revamped restaurants across the globe 1.

The main attraction of the redesigning is the logo, where Burger King has done away
with using the blue curve which was present in the erstwhile design since 1999. In a press
release, Burger King has mentioned that the new "minimalist logo seamlessly meets the
brand evolution of the times." It is also a tribute to the brand's 64-year-old history, with
the new design having been modelled on a previous logo that had been in use from 1969
to 1999. The old colours on its signage will be replaced by colours that are "rich and
bold" with a new, custom-made font called "Flame." Burger King opined that the font is
inspired by the shapes of its food because they are "rounded, bold and yummy."

The look is not limited to their logo per se but will extend to its employees, who will
wear clothing that fuses "contemporary and comfortable style with distinctive colours
and graphics." Their advertisements and promotional pictures feature people who are
actual employees at Burger King. The redesigned packaging of the products highlights
the new logo, comprises "playful illustrations of ingredients" and also include adjectives
that describe the food, like "crispy" and "tasty." Notably, Burger King's packaging comes
a few months after McDonald's also revealed new wrappers and cups.

In September 2020, Burger King revamped restaurant designs to cater to the
requirements and protocols to be maintained during this covid-19 period by introducing
triple drive-thrus, burger pickup lockers and takeout counters. The designs will be
modified to highlight the refurbished visual identity. Customers will begin seeing some
of the new identity immediately in advertisements, signage and packaging. However, the
renovation of its nearly 19,000 global restaurants to reflect the new look will take several
years.

In the light of Burger King’s redesign of their logo, Douglas Sellers, executive creative
director at global branding firm Siegel+Gale (which wasn't involved in Burger King's
redesign) told CNN Business, "Given the current state of the world, the new identity feels
warm and familiar,”. He further added that the logo is "instantly recognizable anywhere
in the world" and that the colours "evoke joy and warmth harkening back to their
heritage."

It is anticipated that the fresh design and familiarity would be able to revive diners'
interests in Burger King since Owner Restaurant Brands International (QSR) have
highlighted that the burger chain has been struggling during the pandemic. In the three
months that ended on September 30, sales at its restaurants which have been open for at

1
    https://edition.cnn.com/2021/01/07/business/burger-king-new-logo/index.html

least a year, have witnessed a decline by 7%. Meanwhile, sales at
rivals McDonald's (MCD) and Wendy's (WEN) outdid Burger King during the same
quarter.

Another part of Burger King's turnaround plan includes adding more value items to their
products list, which it did last month with the launch of a new $1 menu.

LOVE IT OR HATE IT?

Roshnee Desai, founder and creative director at design agency LOCAL, admits that she
quite liked the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) chain’s revamped logo. She adds that it
looks quite retro and is, in a way, a return to the brand’s roots. After all, the brand
sported a similar logo back in the 1990s. The logo has evolved during the brand’s
lifetime and seems to have come back full circle, returning to the rudimentary.

Desai mentions that the logo makes her feel nostalgic because the colours and the
typeface take her back to a time when brands sported bright loud primary colours. At the
time, logos and graphic designs relied heavily on a process called screen printing – which
often came with a set of limited, primary colours. She opines,

       “Burger King’s previous logo made it look like a fintech company. The new logo
       feels friendlier, warmer and more inclusive. The company has brought back its
       cheerful attitude and will be a conversation starter,”.

Preeti Vyas, founder and chairwoman of Vyas Giannetti Creative, however, calls the
design rudimentary, opining that it was a missed opportunity.

       “With brands like Burger King, Pepsi, etc., which have been around for a long
       time, they only make incremental changes in their design and logo. This seems
       very basic.”

Vyas also points out that the new logo is similar to Hungry Jack’s – which is BK’s
Australian franchise. She opines that the new logo and design is neither irreverent nor
playful. she concludes

       “Between intent and delivery, there is a huge gap. The design is a very generic
       one, which is simplistic in idea and rendition... Even the packaging, according to
       me, is nothing special. I feel it's a missed opportunity to have designed a brand
       and design language that could have been more engaging and unique”.

Exhibit 1

Exhibit 2

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