• by Thom Forbes  @tforbes, April 4, 2012

The clever lede on Candice Choi’s AP story was oft repeated in headlines across the country this morning –- from Newsday to ABC News to the San Francisco Chronicle: “Burger King is dusting off its crown and going public again.” The news late yesterday was that 3G Capital, which is backed by Brazilian billionaires, will offer 29% of the burger chain to the public through special purpose acquisition company owned by billionaire William Ackman, according to Ad Age. 3G will retain the Whopper’s share of ownership.

But the hed on Choi’s story on the AP site itself a day before really gets to the fat of what the owners hope will excite potential investors: “Burger King's new menu -- a lot like McDonald's.”

In its biggest menu expansion since its launch in 1954, BK unveiled 10 new products on Monday, including Caesar salads and strawberry-banana smoothies that it “doesn't deny … sound pretty close to those on McDonald's popular menu.”

The new offerings clearly reinforce BK’s reversal of it’s “nearly single-minded courtship of young men” strategy, Choi observes.

"Consumers wanted more choices," according to Steve Wiborg, president of Burger King's North America operations. "Not just healthy choices, but choices they could get at the competition."

And BK says it learned that from its very own research.

Along with the chow comes an ad campaign from Mother New York, a recent addition to its roster, featuring “a star-studded celebrity cast in one of the biggest media blitzes in Burger King’s recent history,” writes Elaine Walker in the Miami Herald. “You’ll find soccer player David Beckham craving a Burger King smoothie, singer Mary J. Blige grooving about the chicken snack wraps and comedian Jay Leno driving his 1967 Corvette straight through a restaurant to pick up his order. “ 

The spot by Blige was quickly pulled, however. BK says it was removed due to music licensing issues and will return, reportsAd Age’s E.J. Schultz. Critics say it perpetuates stereotypes of African Americans. 

“In the spot, a Burger King manager asks Blige to explain to patrons what’s in the wraps,” observes Shay, a staff writer for Power98FM.com. “The place turns into a club atmosphere, Blige can be seen in the ad standing atop Burger King tables, singing the praises of the new crispy chicken snack wraps. A group of kids starts dancing as do the customers. ‘Crispy chicken, fresh lettuce, three cheeses, ranch dressing wrapped up in a tasty, flour tortilla,’ the nine-time Grammy winner croons.”

“Reviews of the commercial -- especially from the African-American community -- have been so bad, it seems, that Burger King removed the latest spot from their YouTube channel,” writes BET’s Brooklyne Gipson. “Hip hop branding expert Steve Stoute took to Twitter to express his outrage …:  ‘These agencies visit culture and then do work that is so inauthentic it's embarrassing,’ he wrote,” Gipson reports.

Salma Hayek, Sofia Vergara and Steven Tyler also make their pitch. YouTube versions of the commercials –- except for the Blige spot at present -- can be viewed on the BK website. 

The spot featuring Beckham -- “the Los Angeles Galaxy's metrosexual poster boy,” as Noreen O’Leary puts it, was Adweek’s “Ad of the Day” for Tuesday. In a blatant pitch to female consumers, “he turns on his heartthrob charisma as he orders a strawberry and banana smoothie and melts not only the counter server but also her (male) manager.”

As for the idea that BK is dusting off its crown, one wonders exactly what that means in that Wendy’s overtook BK as the No. 2 burger chain domestically a couple of weeks ago. But both chains have been losing ground to McDonald’s, where sales have increased 26% over five years while they’ve risen 9% at Wendy's and have been flat at BK, according to Technomic data.

“In the long run, Burger King would be well-served to not try to be a McDonald’s clone,” Janney Capital Markets analyst Mark Kalinowski tells the Miami Herald’s Walker. “…You can’t ‘out McDonald’s’ McDonald’s. McDonald’s has a bigger advertising budget and more stores, which means they’re more convenient.”

Unless BK offers something more than a flat-out “me too” menu -– namely lower prices or better taste –- it’s unlikely to succeed with the new strategy, Cambridge Group principal Eddie Yoon tells the AP’s Choi.

"You can have football teams, and just because they're both running the same offense it doesn't mean it will work the same," he says.

In BK’s case, that offense might very well be a variation of the Wishbone.