Wendy’s, A&W, Jack in the Box Jump Into Viral Burger Taste-Test Trend

The fast-food executive meme war is getting messy, with three more fast-food brands joining the fray.

Three fast-food giants have joined the online “burger battles” sparked by the viral taste-test video of CEO Chris Kempczinski introducing McDonald's Big Arch sandwich.

The trend began after viewers mocked the executive’s careful delivery and the way he took what some described as an overly cautious bite during the product showcase.

Riding the wave of online commentary, A&W Canada released a parody taste-test clip featuring longtime brand face Allen Lulu.

Dressed in a blue shirt and sweater similar to Kempczinski’s, Lulu examines the chain’s Teen Burger as if preparing a technical evaluation.

“We love this product. Which most people call a burger. I don’t even know how to attack it,” Lulu says, mimicking the corporate tone that viewers had joked about in the original video.

The actor then points to the burger’s "unique bread some would call a bun," the lettuce he calls simply “green,” and the pickles that he says make the burger taste “pickle-y” before taking a bite.

At the end of the clip, Lulu invites McDonald’s CEO to lunch. “Just you, me, and a couple of Teen Burgers,” he says.

The brand also promoted a limited-time offer selling the Teen Burger for $4.99 across Canadian restaurants, tying the comedic stunt to a direct product promotion.

Wendy's and Jack in the Box Take a Bite of the Fun

Meanwhile, Wendy’s entered the conversation with its own video response.

In the clip, Wendy’s U.S. President Pete Suerken takes a hearty bite of a burger and praises it as “Absolutely wonderful.”

“This is exactly how a great hamburger should be,” Suerken says before dipping fries into a Frosty dessert. “Excellent,” he adds.

Some viewers praised the Wendy’s clip as the most “authentic” of the responses, while others joked about how the executives appeared to resemble one another in style and presentation.

Jack in the Box has also entered the online burger debate, posting its own taste-test clip on Instagram and TikTok.

Fans flooded the comments, calling Jack “the G.O.A.T.” and “the people’s champ,” celebrating the confident bite as the meme spread across platforms.

The moment also doubled as a product flex.

Jack in the Box noted that its Smashed Jack burger recently ranked as the best fast-food burger in a consumer taste test comparing chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s.

The posts appeared to directly play off the earlier McDonald’s video, continuing the social back-and-forth kickstarted by Burger King.

The Whopper-maker, notorious for its disruptive marketing tactics, was the first to pull the trigger in parodying the Golden Arches. 

Public reactions leaned heavily toward entertainment value, showing how humor can boost fast-food social media marketing when the timing is right. 

Comedy can surely help soften competitive messaging where price, convenience, and taste all fight for consumer attention.

Lessons From the CEO Taste-Test Saga

The ongoing burger battle shows how social attention can be captured outside of traditional advertising. 

In this case, a single executive video set off a wave of brand responses across the fast-food category.

Sometimes, getting eyes on your brand depends more on how fast you can act on an internet joke. 

Marketers, take note: 

• 91% of businesses now using video in their marketing, which helps explain why the brand response clips quickly gained attention online.
• Parody and response videos are becoming a low-costway to stay visible in fast-moving social feeds.
• Casual, humorous leadership content can bring product awareness without aggressive competitive claims.

Wendy’s currently operates more than 7,000 restaurants globally and ranks 5th in the U.S. top restaurants in terms of system-wide sales.

Meanwhile, A&W remains one of the leading national fast food chains in Canada. 

Our Take: Are We Watching Corporate Comedy Replace Advertising?

There's something special about the intimacy of this moment.

Restaurant marketing used to shout from billboards or push perfectly lit commercials at dinner time.

Now we're watching executives dunking on other executives pretending to taste burgers seriously. All while the internet is having a good laugh. 

To us, what matters here isn’t who takes the bigger bite, but who feels comfortable enough to be laughed with, not at.

And if you can make someone hungry and amused in the same thirty seconds, you are probably doing something right.

Brands targeting audiences with trendy campaigns need agencies that understand cultural timing and generational spending patterns.

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