Burger bosses take the beef straight to social after McDonald's CEO's awkward bite

Burger chain CEOs are stepping in front of the camera, and this time, they are keeping it messy, hands-on and firmly on the restaurant floor.

Days after McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski drew scrutiny for a tightly staged burger taste test, Burger King and Wendy’s leaders served up their own bite-sized responses, aprons on, kitchens in view, and far fewer corporate phrases.

On 3 March, Burger King president Tom Curtis appeared in a short Instagram clip filmed inside one of the chain’s outlets. Wearing a branded apron, Curtis takes a bite of the Whopper, nods approvingly and delivers a simple line: “Only one thing missing, a napkin”.

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The video lasts only a few seconds, with no ingredient breakdown, corporate framing, or formal product walkthrough. Instead, it delivers a quick, self-aware moment that feels native to social feeds. Filmed in-store rather than at a desk, the setting does much of the work, putting Curtis in customer mode rather than corporate mode.

A day later, on 4 March, Wendy’s US CEO Pete Suerken posted a 50-second video on LinkedIn. Shot in the kitchen, the clip shows Suerken grilling a patty while highlighting the chain’s “fresh never frozen beef”.

He then grabs a Frosty, pointing out that “our machines are always working”, before sitting down with a Baconator and fries. “Now that’s a burger,” he said after the first bite, later adding, “This is exactly how a great hamburger should be,” as he dips fries into the Frosty. Unlike a glossy brand film, the video keeps the focus on tactile actions, grilling, assembling, dipping, reinforcing product claims through demonstration rather than description.

The back-to-back posts suggest a growing awareness that audiences are scrutinising executive-led content differently on social platforms. Earlier this week, Kempczinski’s Big Arch tasting video sparked online commentary, with some viewers calling the delivery stiff and overly corporate.

Industry professionals that MARKETING-INTERACTIVE spoke to at the time noted that when CEOs step into creator-style formats, audiences quickly assess whether the moment feels believable. Language plays a role, and so does body language. Referring to menu items as “products” or over-explaining layers can create distance, especially in feeds built for personal expression.

They also emphasised that not every leader needs to front every format. CEOs tend to resonate most when providing vision or accountability, while hands-on demos can feel more natural when the spokesperson matches the setting and tone.

Against that backdrop, the Burger King and Wendy’s clips feel deliberately relatable. Both executives trade corporate polish for hands-on action, use casual phrasing instead of boardroom jargon, and seem genuinely comfortable getting their hands dirty. In a world where scrutiny travels faster than fries out of the fryer, burger chains are learning that a believable bite can matter just as much as the burger itself.

The dynamic echoes a broader trend in the long-running cola wars, where brands continue to experiment with format and storytelling to win on taste and tone. Earlier this February, Pepsi unveiled its global campaign “The choice”, directed by Taika Waititi.

The spot features a polar bear confronting his cola preferences in a blind taste challenge, choosing Pepsi Zero Sugar over Coke Zero Sugar and grappling with the revelation in therapy, all set to Queen’s I Want to Break Free.

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