'SAVAGE': Burger King fuels its rivalry with Wendy's by putting spicy nuggets on the menu just after the competing chain got rid of them - then taunts the rival fast food eatery in ads
- Burger King is launching new limited-edition Spicy Chicken Nuggets this week
- Earlier this year, Wendy's dropped its own version from the menu, leaving some fans angry and disappointed
- Wendy's even wrote a 'break-up letter' explaining the decision
- Burger King is now taunting Wendy's about its new nuggets, placing billboards near Wendy's stores and calling them out in ads
Burger King is going to war with rival fast food chain Wendy's, and they're coming in hot. Very hot.
Burger King announced today that it is adding Spicy Chicken Nuggets to its menu — just months after Wendy's axed the item from its stores, upsetting die-hard spicy nugget fans.
And it's no coincidence, either: Burger King has made it quite clear it's looking to fill the whole in the spicy nugget market left behind by Wendy's and is even taunting the rival chain with new ads.
On fire: Burger King is adding spicy chicken nuggets to its menu for a limited time
This is war: The news comes a few months after Wendy's stopped selling its own spicy nuggets in most locations, and Burger King is taunting them with ads
Burger King's new Spicy Chicken Nuggets come in a 10-piece meal for $1.49, and will only be available for a limited time.
The chain rolled out the item with several ads that target Wendy's, including one that taunted the chain for cutting the beloved food.
'Hey Wendy,' one ad reads. 'We've been listening. It sounds like you've been missing that spice in your life for long enough. So, we're bring the spice. Yeah, that's right, Spicy Nuggets are here at Burger King.'
They've even bought billboards overlooking Wendy's restaurants, which one Twitter user called 'savage'.
What's more, they're offering customers of several stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, the chance to get free nuggets on Friday, October 13.
Missing them? In addition to strategically-placed billboards, Burger King has created ads like these
Controvercial: Wendy's removed spicy nuggets from most of its stores earlier this year and left some fans upset
'We know there is an appetite for Spicy Chicken Nuggets,' said Alex Macedo, President, North America, for Burger King. 'Our competitors have launched similar products in the past, and fans will be excited for this delicious product at Burger King restaurants.'
Burger King told USA Today that its version is spicier than Wendy's and uses a mix of cayenne pepper and other spices.
Earlier this year, Wendy's scrapped its own spicy nuggets from most of its stores, leaving some fans devastated and taking to social media to express their disappointment.
'Wendy's are you guys drunk?' wrote one fan. 'Getting rid of the spicy chicken nuggets is the worst thing you could possibly do!'
'Who gave Wendy's the right to stop the spicy chicken nuggets,' wrote another.
No! Several fans took to Twitter to express their anger and disappointment
Low sales: Wendy's said the item simply wasn't popular in most parts of the country
Travel? The spicy nuggets are still available at Wendy's locations in some cities including Austin, Chicago, and St. Louis
Protest! A Twitter account even popped up to campaign for the nuggets to be brought back
Sorry not sorry: Wendy's said it wasn't a snap decision, and while it's possible they'll come back, they don't plan on having the nuggets return anytime soon
Hearing the outrage, Wendy's responded — but stood by the decision, citing low sales. They did, however, note that some cities where the nuggets are most popular still carry them.
'We do understand you're hurting right now and no logic or reasoning will satisfy your desire to, once again, taste those little nuggets of spice and fire,' they wrote in a 'break-up letter on the Wendy's blog.
'Simply put, not everyone in every city loved our spicy nuggets as much as you did,' they went on. 'This wasn't a snap decision or anything they (the nuggets) did. While this is hard, there is some good news in all of this and that’s because not everyone felt the same way.'
Stores in Austin, Dallas, and Waco, Texas, St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison, Wisconsin continue to carry them.
Pranksters: In 2016, a Burger King location in New York made fun of McDonald's
Boo! The Rego park store was entirely draped in white fabric to look like it was wearing a ghost costume
Clever: They even wrote 'McDonald's' on the costume and cracked a joke on the sign outside
Inside, Whopper boxes also wore ghost costumes, but once opened read: 'Just kidding, we still flame-grill our burgers'
This isn't the first time Burger King has publicly and comically gone after a competitor.
Last year, a Burger King in Rego Park, New York 'dressed up' as McDonald's for Halloween, draping the entire restaurant with white sheets cut to look like a spooky ghost costume.
The store even painted Golden Arches over the ghost's eyes to look like eyebrows and wrote 'McDonald's' across the front.
To drive the point home, the store changed its sign, too, writing: 'Boooo! Just kidding. We still flame grill our burgers. Happy Halloween!'
The prank didn't end there, either. Inside, employees covered Burger King-branded cartons with plain white ones, handwriting 'McDonald's' on top and cutting out similar eye holes for smaller 'ghost' costumes.
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