Burger King trolls McDonald’s after CEO’s burger video goes viral

McDonald’s didn’t need a Super Bowl spot to get attention for its new Big Arch burger. A short Instagram-style taste-test from CEO Chris Kempczinski did the job—just not in the way the company likely intended.

The clip, shared and remixed across X, Instagram, and TikTok, drew millions of views largely because viewers fixated on how cautiously he sampled a sandwich designed to look indulgent.

The reaction has, reopened a familiar question for big brands: When leaders speak “straight to the public” on social media, are they building trust—or handing the internet fresh material?

The “Go Direct” Gamble

Kempczinski has been posting a steady stream of short videos that mix executive advice with occasional menu shout-outs, a style Business Insider’s Katie Notopoulos argues is part of a broader PR shift toward bypassing traditional media.

The upside is control: Executives can speak in their own voice, on their own schedule. The downside is just as obvious—there’s no editor, and every awkward moment is instantly shareable.

In the Big Arch clip, the McDonald’s chief appears measured and formal, even describing the burger like an internal presentation. At one point he says, “I’m not sure how to approach this,” before taking a small bite that became the internet’s main obsession.

He follows with a polished endorsement: “Only McDonald’s can make something like this. It doesn’t feel like anything else on the menu.”

That tiny bite quickly became the internet’s main focus, however, and once the jokes started, they didn’t slow down.

When Rivals Smell Blood

The burger itself is meant to feel like a “premium” step-up: A large build with two patties, cheese, lettuce, sauce, and crunchy onions that give it extra texture. Notopoulos says she tried the Big Arch herself and liked it—especially the crunch—despite the online pile-on aimed at the CEO.

The gap between product and performance is what made the clip so meme-friendly. Kempczinski is trim, soft-spoken, and notably careful on camera—traits that feel slightly at odds with a towering, calorie-heavy burger engineered for maximum appetite appeal.

Burger King, never allergic to a drive-by joke, seized the moment with its own CEO video: Tom Curtis takes a big bite of a Whopper and quips, “The only thing missing is a napkin,” with sauce visible on his lip. It’s classic fast-food trolling—brands teasing each other online because it reliably travels.

McDonald’s leaned in, too, echoing Kempczinski’s phrasing in its own posts and turning “product” into an intentional wink.

He later doubled down with a clinical Big Mac review, praising “good visual appeal,” “tempered cheese,” and “notes of beef.”

The lesson may be simple: Going direct works – until the internet decides the story is no longer about the burger.

Sources: Business Insider, Company SOME posts

This article is made and published by Kenneth Glad, who may have used AI in the preparation