🍔 When CEOs become fast food influencers…

Have you noticed the new genre of corporate content: Fast food CEOs filming themselves taking a bite of their own product? The product being burgers.

The First Burger Bite

It all started when Chris Kempczinski, CEO of McDonald’s, appeared in a video introducing the new Big Arch burger… and took what can only be described as the most cautious bite in fast food history. “That’s a big bite for a big arch!” Kempczinski said, and the internet collectively leaned in and squinted. 

Not long after, other fast food leaders started popping up on camera doing the same thing: Burger King’s Tom Curtis with the Whopper and Wendy’s U.S. President Pete Suerken (who also dipped his fries into a Frosty, he knows ball).

I actually appreciate the instinct here. Leaders showing up on camera can humanize a brand and create a connection with customers, but it also reminds me of something I stress constantly in communications:

🎤 Media training matters.

When spokespeople go on camera, audiences analyze everything.

The tone.
The body language.
The authenticity.

And apparently… the bite.

Which is why media training matters. Because sometimes the difference between a strong product launch and a viral moment is whether you look like you actually want to eat the burger.