Corporate rivalries rarely get this entertaining. Fast-food giants are always battling for the top spot, but Burger King’s president took the competition to a whole new level—with mayonnaise smeared across his face. The stunt came shortly after McDonald’s CEO and chairman posted an Instagram video from his office in Chicago, Illinois, introducing the chain’s new Big Arch Burger.
Tom Curtis, who leads Burger King in the U.S. and Canada, fully embraced the moment on TikTok. Instead of delivering the polished corporate script viewers have come to expect, he took a huge, unapologetic bite of the new Whopper. The refreshed burger features an upgraded bun, richer mayo, and new clamshell packaging, marking the first major update to Burger King’s signature sandwich in nearly a decade.
What made the video especially effective was its context. Chris Kempczinski, McDonald’s CEO and chairman, had recently filmed himself in his Illinois office promoting the new Big Arch Burger. He described it as one of the company’s boldest moves yet: a massive sandwich. But viewers quickly zeroed in on his repeated use of the word “product” rather than simply calling it a burger or food. Many also questioned whether he actually eats McDonald’s himself. By the end of the clip, he had taken only a couple of tiny bites, barely more than a nibble, before waving the burger around and promising to finish it later, off camera.
Social media reacted almost immediately. Burger King did not need to mention McDonald’s directly; the message was obvious the moment Curtis’s video appeared. Before long, Reddit, TikTok, Instagram, and X were filled with side-by-side comparisons of the two CEOs. Most viewers did not seem offended. Instead, they found the exchange hilarious. Watching two fast-food giants go head-to-head, seemingly trying to out-bite each other, gave the internet exactly the kind of absurd corporate drama it loves.
Illinois TikTokers Praise What the Burger King President Did
The playful corporate back-and-forth quickly became meme material, with many viewers embracing its petty energy.
“I fear this is my kind of petty.”
“Yeah, he reminds me of someone’s cool dad instead of someone’s robot butler.”
“This dude doesn’t look like he was grown in a lab to make ‘global conglomerate restaurant chain more money.’”
Some commenters directed their jokes squarely at the competition.
“Burger King CEO brutally frames McDonald’s CEO while cholesterolmaxxing.”
This recent fast-food showdown was not really just about burgers. It was about which brand felt more authentic and which executive came across as more genuine. Burger King is currently rolling out its new Whopper across more than 7,000 locations, so Curtis’s timing was almost certainly deliberate. One CEO handed the competition a perfect opening, and Burger King wasted no time taking a bite.
