The CEO of the biggest fast food chain on earth just got publicly humiliated by A&W.
A&W – the root beer place your dad used to take you to in the outlet mall – just joined Burger King and Wendy's in a full-on social media pile-on of McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski.
Here's the thing about how this happened: one tiny, terrified nibble started a fast food war nobody saw coming.
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski Called His Own Burger a Product and the Internet Exploded
Kempczinski posted a video to Instagram on February 3rd to promote the company's shiny new Big Arch burger – two quarter-pound patties, three slices of cheddar, tangy signature sauce, pickles, and crispy onions on a poppy seed bun.
The video sat quietly on his account for three weeks.
Then Irish comedian Garron Noone found it and posted a reaction on TikTok.
Millions of people watched the McDonald's CEO hold the company's flagship new burger and take what can only be described as a polite, apologetic nibble – the kind of bite a man takes when he suspects the burger might bite back.
He didn't call it a burger.
He called it a "product."
Repeatedly.
"I love this product," Kempczinski told the camera, wearing a sweater vest.
The internet lost its mind.
"He acts like he's never seen a burger before," one commenter wrote.
"Man's aura screams kale salad," said another.
A third suggested the whole thing was "the most unintentionally hilarious endorsement fail since New Coke."
Kempczinski earns $19.2 million a year to run the largest fast food operation on the planet.
He took a bite that would embarrass a man at his first dental appointment.
How Burger King Wendy's and AW Turned One Viral Video Into a Full Burger War
Burger King moved first.
The chain had already commented on Kempczinski's original post – "we couldn't finish it either" – racking up 71,000 likes.
Then on the day the Big Arch officially launched, Burger King posted a video of its own president, Tom Curtis, in a kitchen apron taking a savage, full-faced bite out of a Whopper.
Sauce on his lips, Curtis looked directly at the camera and said the only thing missing was a napkin.
The video hit 2.8 million views in under 24 hours.
The internet coined a new word for what Curtis did to Kempczinski: "burgermogged."
Burger King's brand value went up 7.8% this month.
McDonald's went up 4.8% – which sounds fine until you remember McDonald's is supposed to be the one winning.
Wendy's U.S. President Pete Suerken piled on next, posting a video of himself eating a square patty burger that looked exactly like the one a regular customer gets – bun slightly smashed, patties sliding around.
Wendy's caption on X was precise: "This is what it looks like when you don't have to pretend to like your 'product.'"
Then A&W materialized out of nowhere.
Most Americans thought their local A&W became a Shake Shack several years ago.
But here they were, swinging haymakers at the Golden Arches.
The OutKick piece put it perfectly – it was like watching everyone pile on Target, and then suddenly K-Mart shows up throwing punches.
The Original Burger Wars Proved This Strategy Works and Wendy's Invented It
The Burger Wars aren't new.
Burger King launched the original campaign against McDonald's in the late 1970s, attacking the size of their hamburgers.
Wendy's detonated the whole industry in 1984 when 81-year-old actress Clara Peller looked at a giant fast food bun with a tiny patty and asked "Where's the beef?" – a line so powerful that Walter Mondale used it in a presidential debate.
That single campaign boosted Wendy's sales 32% in six months.
The playbook hasn't changed in 40 years: find the moment your competitor looks weak, hit them publicly, and let customers feel smart for already preferring you.
What's changed is speed.
In 1984, Wendy's needed a multimillion-dollar ad buy and a TV slot.
In 2026, Burger King needed a guy in an apron and a TikTok account.
The old Burger Wars ran for years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars in ad spending.
This one started with a CEO who didn't commit to a bite.
That’s something fast food legend Dave Thomas never would have imagined.
https://twitter.com/INVESTMENTSHULK/status/2029617015569220079
The McDonald's CEO Makes $19 Million a Year and Could Not Commit to a Bite
The word "product" is what people can't let go – and they're right not to.
When the person whose entire job is selling you food calls it a "product" while holding it away from his body like it might leak, something has gone wrong at a very basic level.
You don't feel hungry watching that video.
You feel like you're watching a fire safety presentation.
Kempczinski claims he eats McDonald's three to four times a week.
He told a reporter he stays trim by running 50 miles a week and orders his Filet-O-Fish without tartar sauce.
A man ordering his fast food fish sandwich without the sauce is not a man who has made peace with fast food.
That's a man who is being punished.
McDonald's marketing team has been leaning into the joke – their official Instagram captioned a photo of the Big Arch "Take a bite of our new product. Can't believe this got approved."
Smart move.
But the memes already belong to Burger King, Wendy's, and a root beer chain that most people assumed became a Shake Shack years ago.
All because their guy was afraid of a hamburger.
Sources:
- Matt Reigle, "Wendy's And A&W Are The Latest Fast Food Joints To Shove The McDonald's CEO Into A Locker," OutKick, March 5, 2026.
- "McDonald's and Burger King beef over CEO's viral video," NBC News, March 5, 2026.
- "McDonald's CEO Roasted for His Tiny Bite of New Big Arch Burger in Viral Video," Today.com, March 5, 2026.
- "McDonald's CEO tries to sell America on the Big Arch – it did not go as planned," Washington Times, March 3, 2026.
- "Burger King CEO takes a real bite on camera – fans say he 'burgermogged' McDonald's boss," Yahoo Entertainment, March 3, 2026.
- "Burger Wars," Wikipedia / Marketing Dive historical record.
- "Iconic Fast Food Slogans Over the Years," HistoryOasis.
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