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Let The Wiener Wars Begin! Fight To Take Down Burger King Means Cheap Hot Dogs For Everyone

By Shelley Hazen
Published on: 02:58 PST, Feb 26, 2016

There can only be one wiener in the battle between Burger King and the long-time fast food hawkers of hot dogs.

The cleverly dubbed “wiener wars” between the chain and other fast food spots like 7-Eleven, Checkers, and Rally’s, and Wienerschnitzel, began on Tuesday when Burger King introduced its hot dogs to the world, CBS News reported.

Burger King had teased the addition of hot dogs to its burger-centric menu nationwide a few weeks ago, after testing them out on customers in Salt Lake City, Memphis, Baltimore, Detroit, and Kansas City, Fortune added.

The chain promoted the new addition in the days before its release, and announced that they were available to the world in this tweet: “Grilled Dogs have arrived. #GrilledDogs.”

A Fortune reporter tested the hot dogs early this month, but didn’t offer an opinion of the two varieties — one with relish, chopped onions, ketchup, and mustard, and a chili cheese dog. Wienerschnitzel Chief Marketing Officer Doug Koegeboehn was far from impressed, according to CNBC.

“Burger King is just picking up an Oscar Meyer dog, picking up a Kraft chili and Heinz ketchups and mustards, so there really isn’t anything special there. It’s what anybody can make.”

The gloves have come off. Fast food chains are slamming Burger King on social media (the most clever post coming from 7-Eleven, which tweeted “Kings selling hot dogs? What’s next, dictators selling Slurpees? LOLOLOL) and competitors have held firm to their territory by offering special deals to keep customers away from the burger joint.

“They took a shot of coming into our backyard and we’re not going to have any of it,” Checkers and Rally’s CEO Rick Silva.

The restaurants have reduced their prices by 79 cents for a classic and 99 cents for a chill dog in more than 800 restaurants through the end of March. The Classic Grilled will go for $1.99 and the Chili will cost $2.29. And Wienerschnitzel is giving away chili dogs with any purchase for the next month.

The home of the Slurpee has also pulled out all the stops to win the wiener wars. Not only have they bullied Burger King on social media, they’re hyping their $2 Big Bite dog and Big Gulp combo; they claim to sell 80 million of these every year.

“While we relish the addition of newbies to the hot dog game, we’re confident they have a long way to go to catch up with 7-Eleven’s All-American hot dog,” the company said.

All of these chains have been hawking hot dogs for decades — 7-Eelven for 40 years and Checkers and Rally’s for 30 years — so they’re not interested in welcoming a new kid on the block.

“Burger King is late to the party and they are over-priced,” said the latter’s chief marketing officer, Terri Snyder, who added that the chain will spend millions to promote their hot dogs. The veterans don’t seem to be too concerned, though.

“I think it’s funny that those guys are going after each other,” Koegeboehn said. “We aren’t really worried about it.”

Sonic, which has fed hot dogs to the country for 60 years, is opting to stay out of the war.

“Hot dogs have been part of Sonic’s menu for more than 60 years,” said spokeswoman Christi Woodworth. “We continue to promote them in ways consumers respond to, but not in any direct response to a competitor’s promotion.”

Competition between fast food and “fast casual” chains is pretty fierce in general right now. Chipotle and Panera are leading the pack, and both McDonald’s and Wednesday have pulled out all the stops to convince customers to stuff their faces in their restaurants instead of the competition’s.

Have you tried Burger King’s hot dogs? What do you think?

[Photo By Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock]

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