Celebrities often lend their name recognition to big brands, but sometimes such advertising can be downright confusing.

Take the companies ESPN anchor Chris Berman is pitching these days: Applebee’s restaurants and weight loss center Nutrisystem. 

Restaurant meals often have more calories than we expect, so we were surprised to see Berman add Applebee’s commercials to his repertoire. 

In his ads for the weight-loss company, Berman brags about all the weight he’s lost (41 LBS) on Nutrisystem’s calorie and portion-controlled meal plans.

Equally incongrous is blues legend B.B. King’s history as a pitchman. 

King, who has type 2 diabetes, has helped advertise a  LifeSpan blood glucose meter. 

But the music icon also has loaned his name to blues clubs and according to the Internet Movie Database he has been a pitchman for fast-food chains Burger King, Wendy’s and McDonald’s. 

(Photo/Reuters)

Check out the slumping global economy for burgers.
 
Burger King said it had an unexpected slowdown in traffic in March, which cut into the margins at the company’s restaurants.
 
The biggest culprits were Germany, the company’s second-largest market, and Mexico, the only market in Latin America where the company owns restaurants.
 
Burger King is attacking the traffic decline with “value” menus. In Germany, it is offering “King Deals,” which are “value-priced” combo meals. It has also relaunched the 99 euro value menu and is also opening more during breakfast.
 
In Mexico, the company is promoting its “Come Como Rey” (Eat Like a King) value menu. Apparently in Mexico, kings eat Whopper Jr.’s. (Or is that Whoppers Jr.?)
 
The company said it is seeing some improvement in April. 
 
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(Photo: Reuters)

By Shivani Singh

Jack Box, hamburger chain Jack in the Box’s snowman-faced mascot, is alive and kicking.  

Last month, the mascot was hit by a bus in an advertising spot aired during the Super Bowl. The campaign continued online for a month, with a cliff-hanger that left fast-food fans wondering whether Jack would survive. 
  
Following some intrigue involving corporate underlings, Jack woke up last week to take back the reins of the company and launch its new logo that blows up the word ‘Jack,’ which is how most customers refer to the fast-food chain. 
 
The post-Super Bowl viral campaign targeted the company’s core audience of mostly 18- to 34-year-olds, who used YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to cook up millions of hits, Chief Marketing Officer Terri Graham told Reuters.  
 
The multichannel campaign was also supported by coupons. On Tuesday, the company gave a free soda and small fries to people who printed a coupon on the ‘Hang In there Jack’ site. Restaurants saw an increase in traffic on the days the coupons were offered, the company said. 

Fast-food companies have been quicker than other restaurant operators to embrace technology and social media. Rival Burger King made a splash earlier this year with its Facebook campaign that gave a free Whopper to users who dumped 10 friends.
 
The next phase of the Jack in the Box campaign is scheduled for March 16, when the company debuts a new website where users can sign up to get Jack do their dirty work — whether it’s calling in sick or breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend.

(Photos\Jack in the Box)

Check out the not-so-chipper news in the retail world.

Restaurant chain Burger King reported lower profits and cut its full-year forecast due to the currency fluctuations, while cosmetics and perfume companies Estee Lauder and Elizabeth Arden rang up lower, albeit better-than-expected, profits and said they would cut jobs.

Indeed, retailers overall posted the second weakest monthly same-store sales performance since Thomson Reuters began tracking the data in 2000 as heavy job losses, weakness in the U.S. housing sector and the still-tight credit markets have many consumers closing their wallets.

In the mixed-bag camp, apparel retailer Gap saw same-store sales fall more than expected, but raised its full-year profit outlook.

There is some good news out there, however. 

Discount giant Wal-Mart posted a better-than-expected increase in sales at U.S. stores open at least a year, almost double what analysts had expected. Meanwhile, Kellogg’s quarterly profit rose and the cereal maker stood by its 2009 profit outlook, and department store operator Macy’s saw a smaller-than-expected decline in same-store sales and raised its fourth-quarter profit forecast.

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(Photo/Reuters)

If ever you needed a reason to clear the dead wood from your Facebook posse, here it is: Burger King will give you a free Whopper hamburger every time you cut 10 of your “fair-weather web friends.”

But beware. While Facebook lets you anonymously eliminate your “friends,” the Burger King application notifies them when you “sacrifice” them in your quest for free fast food.

The Whopper Sacrifice ad campaign, spotted by Adweek, sends a message alerting your former friend that the sentiment you carry for him or her is nothing compared with the sizzle of a Whopper.

According to the Whopper Sacrifice web site, more than 12,000 friends have been bitten the dust — all for a (roughly) $2 Whopper.

In an economy like this, is anyone safe?

(Photo/Reuters)

Check Out Burger King missing Wall Street views but saying sales grew 12 percent worldwide, with sales at restaurants open at least a year up 3 percent in the United States and Canada.

Lower-cost fast-food chains have benefited in the economic downturn, while higher-priced sit-down restaurant chains like Applebee’s and Chili’s Grill & Bar have been hit particularly hard, as consumers slash discretionary spending to adjust to falling home prices, a credit crunch and higher food and fuel costs.

The home of the Whopper hamburger has been sprucing up aging restaurants, extending hours and adding value menu items to better compete with rivals like McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC.

Burger King maintained its forecast of opening 350 to 400 new restaurants next year, a sign it is hopeful hungry people in a hurry will continue to order items like the 11,500-store chain’s flame-broiled burgers, Big Fish sandwich and newer offerings like its Angus beef burger.

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(Photo/Reuters)

(Added details on restaurant chains)

Check out why Heinz didn’t suffer like Hormel did in the past quarter.

H.J. Heinz came in with a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street expectations, helped by price increases and new product sales, while Jennie-O turkey seller Hormel Foods saw its earnings dip.

Food companies have found it tough going as commodity costs shoot up, but Hormel was particularly hard hit. The reason? It raises the turkeys that it eventually sells — meaning spiking corn feed costs hurt its results. 

Also in food news –  Burger King reported quarterly numbers that easily beat analysts’ expectations, as consumers headed to its restaurants for a burger or two. It also issued a fiscal 2009 outlook within Wall Street’s expectations.

On the apparel end, Children’s Place posted a small quarterly profit, helped by summer clothing sales and cost cuts. Still, the kids’ apparel retailer said it expects further pressure on consumer spending due to the weak U.S. economy.

To round up news in the sector, Kohl’s Corp, a mid-tier department store operator, named its president Kevin Mansell as its chief executive, replacing Larry Montgomery, who will remain the company’s chairman.

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(Photo: Reuters)

Check out McDonald’s Corp’s long-awaited switch to trans fat-free cooking oil in the United States and Canada.

Jim Skinner, CEO at the Golden Arches, said the world’s largest hamburger chain finished dumping the oil with artery-clogging trans fats during the last few months. Speaking to investors at the company’s annual meeting, he also promised that pies and other baked goods would also be trans fat-free by year end. 

McDonald’s was among the first fast-food purveyor to vow to stop using trans fats, but it lagged the competition when it came to putting its money where its mouth is.

The company had its reasons. It said it was insuring a consistent taste for its french fries and looking for a supplier that could deliver enough trans fat-free oil to meet its needs.

Meanwhile, No. 3 hamburger chain Wendy’s was the first fast-food seller to swap to trans fat-free cooking oil in 2006. Yum Brands Inc’s U.S. KFC and Taco Bell chains completed their switch last year.

Burger King, the No. 2 hamburger chain, has promised to dump trans fat-containing frying oil by the end of this year. Until that happens, you can check out its nutritional charts to see how much trans fat it is serving up with your Whopper and fries.

For all the fuss made over the trans fat issue, you would have expected attendees of McDonald’s annual meeting to let up a cheer. Not so. Individual investors lodged new demands and divided into two camps: doggie happy meals vs.  kitty happy meals.
 

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