Burger King's Freaky Problem

Most people seem to love the weird ad campaigns Burger King (BKC) has been running over the past few years: the creepy "King" mascot, the "subservient chicken," dropping your Facebook friends for free food, Flame body spray. The young-male target demo eats this stuff up, as does the advertising industry, which has showered the agency responsible—Crispin Porter & Bogusky—with awards.

Just one problem, Advertising Age reports: It's not working. Or, at least, it's not working well enough.

The campaigns may have vaulted Burger King past Wendy's Arby's Group's (WEN) Wendy's chain, but Burger King continues to struggle to catch up to McDonald's (MCD). "Burger King is viewed as a tougher competitor now. But it is chasing a runaway train," Ron Paul, president of the fast-food consultancy Technomic, told Ad Age.

The problem might come down to timing. The campaigns are aimed at "super fans"—young men after the largest possible amount of meat and grease, who aren't so concerned with cost. McDonald's, meanwhile, has been all about "value" since forever and has lately been reaping the rewards in a big way.

So it may well be that Burger King will be set up perfectly for the end of the recession. During normal times, young, male gluttons are by far the biggest consumers of fast food. When more families are once again better able to afford actual food for breakfast and dinner, Burger King's weirdness might eclipse McDonald's value proposition and help it close the gap.