140:" commercials. The Herb commercials, launched in November 1985, were created by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency at an expense of approximately US$ 40 million (about US$ 106 million in 2022). Donald Dempsey, Thompson's Executive Vice President of Marketing, oversaw the creation of the campaign, and it continued under the direction of Tom Sawyer, the company's Vice President of Marketing. Before settling on the name Herb, the firm considered such names as Mitch and Oscar.
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relevant message". Although some initial results were positive, the mystique was lost after Herb's appearance was revealed during the Super Bowl. Burger King's profits fell 40% in 1986. As a result of the poorly received campaign, Burger King dropped J. Walter
Thompson from their future advertising. The US$ 200 million account was given to
111:
in his life. Advertisements called on fans to visit their local Burger King in the hope of finding Herb and winning a prize. The campaign also included an "I'm not Herb" promotion, in which customers could get a discounted
Whopper by including the phrase in their order. This confused people who tried
217:
stated that Herb was "one of the most famous men in
America". Ultimately, however, the Herb promotion has been described as a flop. The advertising campaign lasted three months before it was discontinued. One Burger King franchise owner stated that the problem was that "there was absolutely no
193:
In addition to encouraging people to search for Herb, Burger King added an "I'm not Herb" promotion to their marketing campaign. Because Burger King claimed to be angry at Herb for not eating at their restaurants, they offered a 99-cent
Whopper hamburger to everybody except Herb. To get the
182:", and thick-rimmed glasses. If a customer spotted Herb at a Burger King, he or she would win $ 5,000. All customers in the restaurant when Herb was discovered were also entered into a drawing for the promotion's grand prize of $ 1 million. The draw was won by Christopher Kelly of
194:
discounted price, customers had to say, "I'm not Herb" while ordering. Customers named Herb were told to say, "I'm not the Herb you're looking for". Other restaurants, including Wendy's, capitalized on the promotion by advertising that Herb ate at their locations.
112:
to follow the promotion because they did not know what Herb looked like. By the time his appearance was revealed, many people had already lost interest in the campaign. The promotion was poorly received and was the last campaign that the
143:
The campaign began with three weeks of "cryptic" messages designed to create interest in the promotion. Herb was mentioned in newspaper advertisements, on banners at football games, and in
29:
124:
When the commercials were created, Burger King was suffering due to poor marketing. The new promotion was designed to counter the successful marketing efforts of
174:
The Herb character was played by actor Jon Menick, who would randomly appear at Burger King restaurants nationwide. Herb's identity was not revealed until
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that ran in 1985 and 1986. The television commercials featured a fictional character named Herb, who was described as never having eaten a
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from Burger King. The advertising agency created a fictional biography for the character, claiming that he was raised in
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159:. The premise of the commercials was that Herb was the only person in the United States who had not eaten a
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681:"Christopher Kelly to receive $ 1 million in the Burger King "Million Dollar Search for Herb" contest"
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distributed to the public. On
November 24, 1985, the first commercials were aired on
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had Herb appear as a guest timekeeper during the boxing match between
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535:
What Were They
Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History
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164:
100:
259:
1008:
594:
Unusually Stupid
Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity
28:
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in
January 1986; he was shown to be wearing white socks, black "
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171:. The character is commonly referred to as "Herb the Nerd".
505:"Franchisees on BK campaign: has potential but needs work"
408:"Burger King unleashes ads, PR stunts introducing 'Herb'"
345:"Company News; Burger King's Angry Franchisees: Page Two"
152:
148:
654:
308:"Herb falls flat, but Wendy's breaks another winner"
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167:, had worked in a cheese factory, and had also sold
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589:
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1401:Burger King Corporation v Hungry Jack's Pty Ltd
205:The promotion met with some positive reviews.
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211:called it "clever", and a columnist for the
813:. Wrestling Observer Newsletter/Figure Four
537:. New York: Back Stage Books. p. 115.
498:
496:
850:
836:
375:"Burger King's Herb: a true national hero"
27:
472:"The 10 worst Super Bowl ads of all time"
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33:A picture of Herb taken from a commercial
16:1985 advertising campaign for Burger King
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132:(McDonald's Lettuce and Tomato), and of
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655:Reynolds, R.D.; Blade Braxton (2007).
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616:
590:Petras, Kathryn; Ross Petras (2003).
1414:Burger King Pokémon container recall
745:
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136:, which had found success with its "
99:was an advertising campaign for the
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712:. New York Magazine Co.: 29 1985.
598:. Random House of Canada. p.
14:
1511:
1490:Food industry advertising slogans
567:Sport and Memory in North America
373:Bernstein, Charles (1986-01-20).
116:agency designed for Burger King.
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258:
1475:American television commercials
1382:Restaurant Brands International
1290:Burger King (Mattoon, Illinois)
857:
802:
698:
673:
648:
583:
284:List of Burger King ad programs
279:Lists of advertising characters
1495:Male characters in advertising
1408:Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz
657:The Wrestlecrap Book of Lists!
470:Hartlaub, Peter (2007-01-26).
1:
785:World Wrestling Entertainment
757:"A CEO Bake-Off at Pillsbury"
755:Dumaine, Brian (1987-11-23).
406:Schoifet, Mark (1985-11-25).
306:Schoifet, Mark (1996-01-01).
289:
1470:American advertising slogans
633:. 1986-05-12. Archived from
565:Wieting, Stephen G. (2001).
503:Carlino, Bill (1990-03-12).
448:. 1986-02-03. Archived from
343:Berg, Eric N. (1998-11-14).
200:
7:
272:
119:
10:
1516:
1500:Mascots introduced in 1985
1310:Heartland Food Corporation
1035:Grilled chicken sandwiches
659:. ECW Press. p. 208.
569:. Routledge. p. 220.
442:"Herb Comes Out of Hiding"
227:World Wrestling Federation
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890:Countries with franchises
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687:. PR Newswire. 1986-05-15
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72:
56:
48:
38:
26:
811:"WrestleMania II review"
533:Hofstede, David (2004).
509:Nation's Restaurant News
412:Nation's Restaurant News
379:Nation's Restaurant News
312:Nation's Restaurant News
1480:Burger King advertising
1419:2013 horse meat scandal
1166:The Subservient Chicken
1485:Burger King characters
1465:Advertising campaigns
1295:Burger King (Alberta)
1248:Fast food advertising
452:on September 11, 2005
1305:Simonds Farsons Cisk
1212:New Zealand Breakers
1081:Breakfast sandwiches
1040:Specialty Sandwiches
880:Advertising programs
184:Louisville, Kentucky
1300:Carrols Corporation
1275:Beurger King Muslim
1207:Burger King Classic
1128:Burger King Kingdom
637:on February 4, 2013
482:on February 6, 2013
23:
1377:Berkshire Hathaway
1352:Grand Metropolitan
1285:Burger King Israel
1071:Impossible Whopper
1050:BK Chicken Nuggets
627:"Herb Is a Grinch"
349:The New York Times
245:on April 7, 1986.
114:J. Walter Thompson
43:J. Walter Thompson
19:
1445:
1444:
1256:
1255:
1191:"Whopper Whopper"
1186:Whopper Sacrifice
1104:
1103:
1096:Storm (ice cream)
1076:BK Dinner Baskets
936:Norman E. Brinker
733:Missing or empty
685:Highbeam Research
666:978-1-55022-762-8
138:Where's the beef?
94:
93:
1507:
1435:
1434:
1236:Related subjects
1171:The Whopperettes
1146:PocketBike Racer
1113:
1112:
1045:BK Chicken Fries
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978:
921:James B. Adamson
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809:Walker, Linden.
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787:. Archived from
781:"WrestleMania 2"
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791:on 2007-10-26
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609:0-8129-7082-9
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576:0-7146-5219-9
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544:0-8230-8441-8
540:
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529:
515:on 2005-04-18
514:
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497:
481:
477:
473:
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443:
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418:on 2010-05-27
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385:on 2011-06-16
384:
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318:on 2009-04-17
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176:Super Bowl XX
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97:Where's Herb?
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21:Where's Herb?
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1406:
1399:
1391:Legal issues
1367:Bain Capital
1321:Olayan Group
1200:Sponsorships
1180:
1151:
1144:
1137:
905:Product list
895:Legal issues
815:. Retrieved
804:
793:. Retrieved
789:the original
784:
775:
764:. Retrieved
760:
735:|title=
726:cite journal
709:
705:
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689:. Retrieved
684:
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639:. Retrieved
635:the original
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517:. Retrieved
513:the original
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480:the original
475:
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454:. Retrieved
450:the original
445:
420:. Retrieved
416:the original
411:
387:. Retrieved
383:the original
378:
352:. Retrieved
348:
320:. Retrieved
316:the original
311:
266:1980s portal
251:battle royal
247:Clara Peller
224:
212:
206:
204:
196:
192:
173:
142:
123:
96:
95:
20:
1362:TPG Capital
1317:(Australia)
1243:Burger wars
1139:Big Bumpin'
1109:Advertising
1055:TenderCrisp
875:Advertising
859:Burger King
231:Roddy Piper
180:flood pants
169:decoy ducks
105:Burger King
64:The Whopper
52:Burger King
1454:Categories
1372:3G Capital
1153:Sneak King
1133:King Games
1123:BK Tee Vee
1019:Whopperito
999:BK Stacker
951:Jack Cowin
885:Franchises
817:2009-07-27
795:2007-09-12
766:2009-07-27
691:2010-08-03
641:2009-07-27
519:2007-09-12
486:2007-09-12
456:2009-07-27
422:2010-08-03
389:2009-07-27
354:2009-07-27
322:2009-07-27
290:References
220:N. W. Ayer
126:McDonald's
87:Jon Menick
1393:and cases
1347:Pillsbury
1340:Ownership
1116:Campaigns
926:Brad Blum
761:CNN Money
718:0362-4331
201:Reception
165:Wisconsin
101:fast food
76:1985–1986
1437:Category
1009:Big King
975:Products
900:Products
706:New York
476:NBC News
273:See also
120:Campaign
81:Starring
1028:Chicken
1014:Whopper
994:Sliders
870:History
241:at the
161:Whopper
134:Wendy's
109:Whopper
57:Product
1357:Diageo
1270:AmRest
1222:Sauber
1004:BK XXL
914:People
716:
663:
606:
573:
541:
190:mall.
155:, and
145:flyers
103:chain
49:Client
39:Agency
1331:Wimpy
1326:Quick
1176:Ugoff
1064:Other
235:Mr. T
130:McDLT
982:Beef
739:help
714:ISSN
661:ISBN
631:Time
604:ISBN
571:ISBN
539:ISBN
446:Time
233:and
225:The
208:Time
1216:NBL
600:200
237:at
157:ABC
153:NBC
149:CBS
1456::
1226:F1
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759:.
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724:{{
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