Buzz
Fast food, a modern culinary invention, emerged around the same time as the automobile and gained widespread popularity in the 1950s. Despite its brief history, it has become a ubiquitous aspect of global culture. It’s rare to find someone, outside the most isolated communities, who hasn’t experienced a McDonald’s at least once. Fast food has developed its own unique lore, and here are ten of the most bizarre marketing campaigns, legal battles, and controversies that have shaped the drive-thru landscape.
10. Burger King
9. Taco Bell
Taco Bell is widely recognized for its Chihuahua advertising campaign, which faced criticism for being perceived as racially insensitive. Featuring Gidget, the ads were discontinued in 2000. Gidget quickly found new opportunities, including a role in “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde.” However, Taco Bell faced legal troubles after it was revealed they had taken the Chihuahua concept from Joseph Shields and Thomas Rinks, two men from Michigan. Despite their initial pitch being rejected in the 1990s, Taco Bell’s new ad agency later used the idea. In 2003, a jury awarded the duo $30 million, and the judge added another $12 million, resulting in a total settlement of $42 million.
As part of Yum! Brands, which also operates KFC and Pizza Hut, Taco Bell has achieved global success with its Mexican-inspired menu, expanding to numerous countries. However, its attempts to enter the Mexican market in 1992 and 2007 failed due to insufficient customer interest.
8. Wendy’s
Wendy’s is renowned for its straightforward advertisements featuring its sincere and down-to-earth founder, Dave Thomas. Thomas, who was a head chef at a Fort Wayne, Indiana, restaurant, crossed paths with Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, who was selling franchises. Thomas and his employers invested in the venture, leading to a close collaboration with the Colonel on marketing strategies. Thomas introduced the concept of serving chicken in buckets to maintain crispiness and recommended Sanders star in his own commercials.
The strategy was a massive success, enabling Thomas to sell his stake in the restaurants back to Sanders for $1.5 million. This provided the funds to launch Wendy’s, where Thomas later starred in over 800 commercials, replicating the advertising approach that had worked so well for KFC.
Despite its wholesome, all-American origins, Wendy’s has had its share of odd incidents. In 2005, an employee named Steve LeMay and his accomplice, coincidentally named Ronald MacDonald, were caught stealing from the safe of the Manchester, NH, location where they worked.
7. KFC
In a prior article, I highlighted KFC’s extraordinary popularity in Japan on Christmas Eve, with customers lining up out the door. While KFC remains successful in the U.S., such scenes are rare—except in early May 2009. Oprah Winfrey promoted a coupon on her show for a free grilled chicken meal at KFC, available on her website. KFC described the response as “unprecedented and overwhelming,” a polite way of saying the campaign spiraled into chaos. Millions of coupons were printed, the website crashed under heavy traffic, and restaurants were overwhelmed, running out of food. By the time the promotion ended, 10.5 million coupons had been issued, with rainchecks provided to honor them.
6. McDonald’s
The 1992 McDonald’s coffee lawsuit often surfaces in discussions about frivolous legal cases. While it may seem absurd that someone could sue over spilling hot coffee, the details reveal a more complex situation. McDonald’s served coffee at scalding temperatures—over 180 degrees, far hotter than the 140 degrees typical for home coffeemakers. Stella Liebeck suffered severe third-degree burns, with injuries reaching the bone. Graphic images of her injuries are available online, though they are not for the faint of heart.
Additionally, Liebeck’s lawsuit wasn’t driven by greed. The 79-year-old initially sought only to cover her medical expenses, which exceeded $10,000. McDonald’s offered a paltry $800 in response.
Liebeck hired a lawyer, leading to extensive legal battles. McDonald’s repeatedly declined settlement offers, even after mediation attempts before the trial. During the trial, evidence revealed that McDonald’s had received hundreds of burn complaints related to their coffee and had previously settled similar claims, some for up to $500,000. This severely damaged McDonald’s case, and the jury awarded Stella Liebeck $2.86 million. The judge later reduced the amount, and both parties appealed. Before further litigation, they reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.
5. Tim Hortons
Tim Hortons, a Canadian donut chain with locations in the U.S., the UAE, and Oman, is named after NHL defenseman Miles Gilbert “Tim” Horton. Horton, who played for teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres, died tragically on February 21, 1974. After a hockey game in Toronto, he was driving his De Tomaso Pantera at over 100 mph when he lost control, hit a culvert, and was killed instantly. Not wearing a seatbelt and with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, his death shocked many. His business partner later paid Horton’s widow $1 million for her stake in the chain, which now generates over $2.5 billion annually.
4. Pizza Hut
While many argue that local pizzerias offer superior taste compared to Pizza Hut’s standardized, mass-produced recipes, none can match Pizza Hut’s delivery range. In April 2001, the chain paid the Russian space program around $1 million to send a pizza to the International Space Station. The deal included a photo opportunity with cosmonaut Yuri Usachov, who gave a thumbs-up after receiving the specially prepared, vacuum-sealed salami pizza. To compensate for the muted taste buds in zero gravity, the pizza was heavily seasoned.
3. Subway
Subway holds the title of the world’s largest restaurant chain, with 39,517 locations across 102 countries and territories as of now. Its most unique outlet is located inside 1 World Trade Center. Situated in a mobile “pod,” the restaurant is elevated floor by floor as the skyscraper is constructed, eventually reaching the 105th floor. This Subway was established to serve union workers, who have only 30-minute lunch breaks and cannot leave the site due to the time-consuming process of using hoists to return to ground level.
2. Dairy Queen
Mark Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and a star on NBC’s “Shark Tank,” once criticized Ed Rush, the NBA’s head of officiating, in 2002. Cuban claimed he wouldn’t trust Rush to run a Dairy Queen, resulting in a $500,000 fine from the NBA. Dairy Queen responded by challenging Cuban to manage one of their stores for a day if he thought it was so simple. Cuban accepted, spending a day at a Coppell, Texas, location serving ice cream and signing autographs. The event drew massive crowds, with wait times exceeding an hour. Cuban humorously struggled with the soft-serve machine, telling customers, “Be patient with me, please. I’m new at this. It might not be pretty, but it works.”
1. Arby’s
Rahm Emanuel, though not widely recognized by the general public, has built an impressive career in American politics. He has held advisory roles for Presidents Clinton and Obama, including serving as White House Chief of Staff, and is currently the Mayor of Chicago. During his high school years, Emanuel worked part-time at Arby’s, a fast-food chain famous for its roast beef sandwiches. While operating a meat slicer, he accidentally severed part of his right middle finger. Opting not to get stitches, he went swimming in Lake Michigan, which led to an infection. As a result, doctors had to amputate the tip of his finger.
Interestingly, Rahm’s brother, Ari Emanuel, is a prominent Hollywood agent and the inspiration for the character Ari Gold in the TV series “Entourage.”
