If It Ain’t Broke Don’t Fix It

The main story

Fast-food chain Burger King takes a page from McDonald’s playbook to promote a recent move away from artificial ingredients.

On Thursday, Burger King announced that it’s banning 120 artificial ingredients from its menu, improving food quality from condiments to hamburger buns.

The company will promote the clean ingredient initiative by partnering with celebrities in a campaign called “Keep It Real,” using the celebrity’s real names with their meals instead of their stage names.

Burger King’s Chief Marketing Officer Ellie Doty states that the initiative is a “big milestone” for the company as it has been improving the quality of its ingredients over the past several years.

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Teachable Moment

When it comes to food, fresh and clean ingredients aren’t a surprising addition; they’re something that’s expected, especially when rivals (McDonald’s and Taco Bell) have already made similar moves.

Burger King was self-aware enough to know consumers wouldn’t notice (or care) about the ingredient change and decided to go with a tried and tested (and profitable) model à la McDonald’s.

The old adage (if it ain’t broke…) rings true here and is a simple reminder that our best ideas and strategies don’t always have to be new and original.