MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It’s official. Burger King is extending an olive branch to McDonald’s, calling for a one-day ‘burger wars’ ceasefire on their longstanding rivalry. Burger King proposes that on Peace Day, September 21st, 2015, the two restaurants set aside their differences and unite to create the ‘McWhopper’ - a burger that combines all the tastiest ingredients from their signature sandwiches, the Big Mac® and the WHOPPER®, in one delicious, peace-loving burger.
A detailed exploration of Burger King’s proposal to McDonald’s can be found at www.mcwhopper.com. The ‘McWhopper’ would be available for one-day, at one location in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., with the objective of raising awareness of Peace Day. As with any proposal, McDonald’s is free to accept or decline the offer. If they choose not to participate, no harm done - after all, peace isn’t always easy to achieve. Should they say yes, burger fans will get to experience the culinary mash-up of a lifetime, and walk away inspired by the mouthwatering taste of peace.
“Our proposal is designed to generate the most attention and awareness possible for Peace Day and the work of the non-profit organization Peace One Day,” said Fernando Machado, Senior Vice President for Global Brand Management at Burger King Corporation. “We’re being completely transparent with our approach because we want them to take this seriously. It would be amazing if McDonald’s agrees to do this. Let’s make history and generate a lot of noise around Peace Day. If they say no, we’ll hopefully have, at the very least, raised much-needed financial support and consciousness for the great cause that is Peace One Day. And both are well worth the effort.”
Peace Day, September 21st, is a United Nations-recognized annual day of global unity, successfully advocated by the non-profit organization Peace One Day. “Our short term goal is to expose three billion people to Peace Day by 2016. It’s a big target but it’s very possible, particularly with the support of the corporate sector – they have the resources and ability to raise awareness on a massive scale. That awareness creates action, and that action saves lives,” said Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day. “This proposal from Burger King is the corporate sector at its best – coming together, putting their differences aside and saying: ‘come on; let’s do something to manifest a more peaceful, sustainable world’.”
For more information, visit www.mcwhopper.com and www.peaceoneday.org.
Big Mac is a registered trademark of McDonald’s Corporation, which has not authorized this usage nor accepted this proposal. All mentions of “McDonald’s” are references to McDonald’s Corporation. Whopper is a registered trademark of Burger King Corporation. All mentions of “Burger King” are references to Burger King Corporation. TM & © 2015 Burger King Corporation. All rights reserved.
About Burger King Corporation
Founded in 1954, Burger King Corporation is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world. The original HOME OF THE WHOPPER®, the BURGER KING® system operates more than 14,000 locations in approximately 100 countries and U.S. territories. Almost 100 percent of BURGER KING® restaurants are owned and operated by independent franchisees, many of them family-owned operations that have been in business for decades. Burger King Corporation is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (TSX,NYSE:QSR), one of the world's largest quick service restaurant companies with more than $23 billion in system sales and over 19,000 restaurants. To learn more about Burger King, please visit our website at www.bk.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About Peace One Day
Founded in 1999 by filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, the non-profit organisation Peace One Day drove the initiative that led to the unanimous adoption by the United Nations member states of an annual day of global ceasefire and non-violence on 21 September – Peace Day.
Not only has Peace Day been proved as a catalyst for broad-ranging civil society action by individuals and groups in every country of the world, but also for life-saving activities: notably, in 2007, Jeremy Gilley and Peace One Day Ambassador Jude Law travelled to Afghanistan to help develop and document preparations for life-saving activities across the country for Peace Day. As a result of this work, since 2007, Peace Day agreements in the region have resulted in the immunisation against polio of 4.5 million children.
With the day well-established, Peace One Day’s objective is to institutionalise Peace Day around the world, making it self-sustaining. A report supported by McKinsey & Company estimated that 1 billion people were exposed to the Peace Day message in 2014 with around 610 million people fully aware and engaged, resulting in 10 million people behaving more peacefully. Peace One Day aims to reach 3 billion people with the Peace Day message by Peace Day 2016. For more information, visit www.peaceoneday.org.
