Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing?

Level 2
1

Intermediate

Warmer

a. How many fast food restaurants can you name in one minute? Please write your answers inside the burger.

___________________________________________
macdonals
burguer kind
___________________________________________
kfc
___________________________________________

b. How many of these restaurants sell burgers and fries?

c. How many of them sell salads and other healthy options?

mc, burguer kind

Key words

Write the words from the article into the gaps. The paragraph numbers are given to help you.
fertile
discontent

prospered
philosophy

diversified
adverts

launching
value

creepy
marketing push

chain
diners

1. A _______________________ is a group of businesses such as stores, hotels or restaurants that all belong to
the same person or company. (para 1)
2. A _______________________ is a system of beliefs that influences someones decisions and behaviour. (para 1)
3. Something that _______________________ did well, was successful and made a lot of money. (para 2)
4. _______________________ are people who are eating a meal at a restaurant. (para 3)
5. The _______________________ of something is measured by the amount that it is worth compared to the
money that it costs. (para 4)
6. If a company has _______________________, it has developed new products or activities in addition to the
ones already provided. (para 5)
7. When a company is _______________________ new products it is starting to sell them to the public. (para 6)
8. A _______________________ is a special effort made by a company to encourage people to buy their
product. (para 7)
9. _______________________
is another word for unhappy or dissatisfied. (para 8)
discontent
10. A _______________________ market is one that is able to produce good results. (para 8)
11. _______________________ are short films or pictures and words in a magazine or newspaper that aim to
encourage people to buy a particular product. (para 9)

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NEWS LESSONS / Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing? / Intermediate

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Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010

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12. Something that is _______________________ is unpleasant in a way that makes you feel nervous or
frightened. (para 9)

Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing?

Intermediate
7

The picture is better in Britain, which has been

among the few bright spots for Burger King.
Faced with weak sales back in 2006, Burger
King invested $3m to strengthen its UK operation
and a marketing push has been successful. A
spokesman said new products such as Angus
Burgers and the spiced-up Angry Whopper have
sold well.

But on Wall Street, Burger King has been losing

support from investors since a profits warning
last April. Theres a lot of discontent, a lot
of uncertain investors out there, said Steve
West, a restaurants analyst, who points out that
the US ought to be a fertile market. In 2006,
Americans spent almost half of their food dollars
in restaurants. Were lazy, we dont know how to
cook. We eat out a lot.

In an effort to improve sales, Burger King has

used a grinning, crowned character called the
King in its adverts. But the Wall Street Journal
remarked this week that while some people
found this cool, others thought it creepy.

Andrew Clark in New York

4 February, 2010

2 While its larger rival, McDonalds, has prospered

from families trading down in the recession,
Burger King has been floundering. For the third
consecutive quarter, compared to McDonalds,
sales in Burger Kings 12,078 restaurants were
down by 2% globally and 3.3% in North America.

4 Faced with tough economic conditions, Burger

King has chosen value for money. In Britain, it
offers cheeseburger meals for 1.99 while in the
US, it has been selling double cheeseburgers for
$1 each.
5 And while McDonalds has diversified into
salads, paninis and cappuccinos in the hope of
satisfying so-called soccer moms, the Burger
King menu remains firmly rooted in burgers,
fries and fizzy drinks. Rather than broadening
its customer base, Burger King has focused
on getting more out of the chains so-called
superfans who visit Burger King restaurants
more than nine times each month.
6 Burger King has adopted a narrow philosophy
while McDonalds is going after everyone,
says Ron Paul, president of a food industry
consultancy, Technomic. I dont think theyve
been as strong at launching new products.
They havent been able to break into the
breakfast market McDonalds, kind of, owns
the breakfast space.

10 Burger King is also introducing a bold industrial

look for its stores with corrugated metal, brick,
wood and concrete, flame chandeliers and
liquid crystal menus. And the first Burger King in
Russia opened last month.
11 In a few locations, such as Miamis South Beach,
Burger King has gone into the bar business by
offering beer alongside burgers. And it has made
some modest moves to provide healthier items
Burger King added apple chunks to its US
childrens menu last year and introduced chicken
with lower sodium. But critics say these moves
are coming too late.
12 Burger King arent really doing anything wrong,
says Paul. Its more a matter that McDonalds,
in particular, seems to be doing everything right.
Guardian News & Media 2010
First published in The Guardian, 04/02/10

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010

NEWS LESSONS / Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing? / Intermediate

3 Its customers, particularly in the US, tend to

come from poorer economic groups, including
a large proportion of black or Hispanic diners,
who have been hit particularly badly by
unemployment. Burger Kings shares have
slumped by 19% over the last year, while
McDonalds stock has surged by 12%.

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1 The worlds second-largest hamburger chain,

Burger King, is struggling to control a fall
in sales. It is being criticized for having an
unimaginative menu as well as a narrow
philosophy of sticking to flame-grilled meat
sandwiches and fries.

P
H

Burger King sales fall again

CA

Level 2

Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing?

Level 2

Intermediate

3 Comprehension check
Are the sentences true (T) or false (F) according to the information in the article? Correct any sentences
that are false.
1. Burger Kings sales have fallen more in Europe than in the USA. F
2. In the USA many people who dine in fast food restaurants come from poorer economic groups.
3. Burger King has been concentrating its sales drives on soccer moms.

4. Superfans are customers who go to Burger King twice a week on average.

5. In Britain, Burger King has increased prices in an attempt to go up-market.

F
F

6. Burger Kings crowned character the King has been removed from its marketing campaigns because it is
too creepy.
7. Burger King is offering healthier options in some of its restaurants.

8. Burger King has had some success in Europe with its Angry breakfasts.
F

Language: Opposites

Un-jumble the letters of the words below to find words from the article that have the opposite meaning to
those in the table.
KWAE

TERBET

LDERFUON

RIGHTB

FITPRO

RNGOW

positive

negative

prosper
loss

strong

weak

better

worse
dark

NEWS LESSONS / Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing? / Intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010

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bright

wrong

P
H

right

CA

profit

Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing?

Level 2
5

Intermediate

Planning and presentation

You have been asked to suggest new products for Burger King in order to improve sales and increase their
customer base. Write your notes in the table below and then present your results to the class.
product name

target customers

ingredients

packaging

price

Webquest

Compare Burger Kings the King character with McDonalds Ronald McDonald character.
http://www.bk.com/en/us/company-info/index.html
http://www.ronald.com/
http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd.html

NEWS LESSONS / Is Burger Kings fast food philosophy failing? / Intermediate

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010

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What can you find out about the two companies business philosophies from their websites?