McDonald's has plainly rejected Burger King's proposal of creating the "McWhopper" in line with the upcoming annual "day of non-violence and ceasefire" on Sept. 21. Burger King announced the "truce" on Wednesday and proposed that the proceeds of the "McWhopper" will go to Peace One Day, a charity that creates awareness for world peace, according to a previous report by HNGN.
McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook agreed that the proposal is definitely for a good cause, but advised Burger King to create "something bigger to make a difference," CBS Los Angeles reported. He also added that their friendly competition should not be considered at par with the real ongoing war all over the world.
The idea was to let the world know about the charity, Peace One Day, which currently lobbies that Sept. 21 should officially become Peace Day. Burger King's vice president Fernando Machado said it was not just a publicity stunt, but they were honestly quite hoping that Mcdonald's will agree to the deal, according to the Business Insider.
The "McWhopper" would have had the best elements of the two chains' most popular burgers - the Big Mac and the Whopper. Burger King proposed to combine these two burgers to come up with a whole new double-decker burger. These burgers would have been sold for only one day at a pop-up area in Atlanta, Ga., the halfway point between the companies' headquarters.
As the less popular brand, Burger King's popularity has been challenged by McDonald's for a number of years. Martin Lindstrom, marketing expert, said McDonalds' rejection of the collaboration gave Burger King the higher ground. "McDonald's could easily have reacted in a fun, cheeky and engaging way - turning the entire situation around. Yet they missed this opportunity," he said in an email, NBC News reported. "1:0 to Burger King."
Potential supporters of the "McWhopper" were not thrilled by the turnout of the events.