For 25 days in the wintertime of 1986 , a characterless guy call Jon Menick travel the land . He would be ushered into aBurger Kingfranchise location by his handlers , loitering until someone recognized his olive - light-green jacket and eminent - water pants . He ’d wait for them to say hello , at which full stop he ’d stick out his hand andtell themthey’d just make headway $ 5000 .
Menick repeated this procedure for all50 statesand the District of Columbia . He was appearing in character as Herb , Burger King ’s latest pitchman . Aside from his outmoded way sense , Herb was renowned for being just about the only human in the country whohad never eatena Whopper . Months of print ads and television system commercials had beleaguer Herb ’s universe ; his “ mob ” and “ friends ” were question , discussing this blight on their existence . The theme of a man who had never succumbed to the pleasures of a grill firm - service Warren Burger was presented as proportionate to a man who had never taste an orangeness or go through a fullmoon .
Burger King was certain Herb would help oneself contract into the mart percentage hold in by their perennial rivals atMcDonald ’s . And while he was , for a time , one of the most easy identifiable faces on television thanks to that immediate payment reward , he would also prove to be whatAdvertising Agewould by and by declare the biggest promotional flop of the decennary . This was because recognizing Herb was not quite the same as liking him .
Beefing With McDonald’s
In 1985 , McDonald ’s saw more than15 millioncustomers a day , who handed over a total of $ 9 billion annually for their hamburger , nestling , Happy Meals , and McNuggets . While their advertising budget was substantial , it was only in an effort to retain their incredible37 percentmarket ploughshare of burger joint . Burger King andWendy ’s , in contrast , had to press for every scrap allow over .
With the merits of their food a subjective discussion , both franchises lean heavily on ad campaigns to sample and rive in more stomach . Wendy ’s hit self-aggrandizing with their “ Where ’s the Beef ? ” campaign of 1984 , in which an elderly cleaning lady named Clara seemed disappoint by the deficiency of meat in the rival ’s burgers .
Burger King wanted a Clara of their own . Ad agency J. Walter Thompson pitched them on the idea of a man who had confide the mortal sin of never taste a walloper . A Ishmael , he ’d be spoken of in hush tones by his associates . After play with name like Oscar and Mitch , the way settled on Herb . “ Who ’s herbaceous plant ? ” was slat to become the company ’s campaign focus for late 1985 .
From there , J. Walter Thompson rolled out a series oftelevisionspots featuring Herb ’s shamed relatives . A kind of viral advertizement before the concept of viral marketing existed , people began to hypothesize about Herb : his likes , dislikes , what he appear like , and why he had never delighted his intestines with a Whopper . masses who parade into a Burger King and announced “ I ’m not Herb ” could get a burger for 99 penny . Overall store sales transfix by 10 percent .
Though Burger King never openly discuss it , architectural plan were already afoot to cast an actor as Herb for phase two of the campaign . After spending two calendar month and $ 40 million on the ads , America would in conclusion get to see the existent thing .
A Commercial Disappointment
A trail stage performing artist , Jon Menick was pick off out of a syndicate of 75 actors to portray the character in ad spots that would debut with the January 1986Super Bowl . Menick move around to Wisconsin on Burger King ’s dime tovisit a cheese factoryand “ discover ” Herb ’s essence . MTVagreed to have him be a guest VJ for a day . He earned a spot as guest timekeeper forWrestleMania 2 . After month of going incognito , Herb was everywhere .
When he debuted during Super Bowl XX , however , there was a corporate sigh of disappointment . Herb was a swot who did n’t appear to possess many charming qualities . During a “ crush group discussion , ” he accept he try a burger at Burger King and loved it . It was n’t precisely a startling plot twist . Two months of pent - up wonder resulted in a heap exodus of pursuit on the part of burger aficionados .
Burger King leaned on graft , pop the question a $ 5000 reward for anyone who spotted Menick - as - Herb during his nationwide enlistment . ( Local franchisees could kick in more if they require : some witness mark $ 10,000 . ) But the chain suffered further criticism when a series of episode call for underage winners undermined their generosity . To warn kids from cut division to brood in Burger Kings all day waiting for Herb to show , the company insisted on a minimum age of 16 for winners .
One teen , Jason Hallman of Alabama , was 15 when hespotted Herbin March 1986 . Burger King give his 16 - twelvemonth - old booster the $ 5000 or else . Hallman ’s parents complain , with the Alabama state senate weighing in . They labeled Burger King ’s action as approach “ consumer fraud ” because they had fail to make the age lower limit a spectacular part of the rules . Another juvenile disqualify from the prize in Reno wasawardedthe $ 5000 by the local wheeler dealer .
That May , Burger King ended any further credit of Herb , turning their advertising stress to “ existent people ” who enjoyed their card item . Then - company president Jay DarlingadmittedHerb “ did not work closely as well ” as he had expected .
The following twelvemonth , patrons were no longer on the William Holman Hunt for Herb , but fall over themselves to site a far more popular drawing card . Burger King had just shippedeight millionpuppets establish on the democratic sitcomALFto stores .
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A version of this article was to begin with published in 2016 ; it has been updated for 2024 .
