The McWhopper Irony & The Ultimate “Top 15” List

Posted by Stephen O'Hare, President Pedors Shoes on 1st Sep 2015

The McWhopper Irony & The Ultimate “Top 15” List

Stick with me on this one. It all comes together at the end.



Over 8 million people have participated thus far in “My World” The United Nation’s Global Survey for a Better World


It is a fascinating global study as it emphasizes what is truly important to people around the planet and the relevant importance they associate to each of the top 15 issues. The assimilated data can be broken down geographically by continent or by the Human Development Index (HDI) which then reprioritizes concerns accordingly.

What is consistent wherever you are on the planet, is the request for “Affordable and Nutritious Food” and “Better Healthcare” both of which are consistently ranked in the top 5.
Here are the to 5 rankings for all votes cast from all countries/groups/genders/education levels/ages:
A good education
Better healthcare
Better job opportunities
An honest and responsive government
Affordable and nutritous food


In related news, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution Day has 1.6 million signatures which further underscores the need to improve access to affordable and nutritious food.


In another UN initiative, September 21sthas been tagged as the International Day of Peace.
This past week Burger King challenged McDonalds to call a ceasefire on the so called “burger wars” and to leverage their collective global brand’s size, scope and resources to influence change. Watch the video for more info (it's just over a minute long).

Jamie Oliver must have thought all his dreams had come true for about a nano-second. Until, of course, he realized that Burger King are not championing two of the top 5 global concerns - food and healthcare - but are drawing attention to world peace with proceeds from the sales of the proposed “McWhopper” going to the UN to promote the International Day of Peace. (As an aside, World Peace does not rank in the top 15)

Unsurprisingly, Steve Easterbrook, McDonald’s chief executive didn’t chomp on the McWhopper bait. I doubt that Daniel Schwartz, Burger King CEO really expected him to. It was a marketing stunt rolled out by Burger King to position McDonalds into a no-win scenario.

The irony of course is not lost.

We have two of the world’s largest brands fighting the wrong war.

We have two massive global brands with the wherewithal to make a difference in providing affordable and nutritious food and the ability to directly improve the healthcare of “burghers” around the world.

Both companies are losing the fast food market segment to perceived healthier competitors with both scrambling to find a fix. Both seem hell bent to ignore the opportunity to leverage their massive distribution channels and attach themselves to real issues and supporting the top priorities of their global public.

Mr Easterbrook should counter BK’s challenge with a joint effort to provide access to affordable nutritious around the world, with the funds raised from sales of the “King Mickey D’s Salad” pledged to Mr Oliver’s Food Revolution effort. That would get me to drive to a pop up shop in downtown Atlanta.

Perhaps that is the simple phone call Mr. Easterbrook needs to make.