Burger King turns 70 this year. Photos show how the chain has evolved. (2024)

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An early iteration of Burger King called Insta-Burger King opened in 1953.

Founded in Jacksonville, Florida, by Keith Kramer and Matthew Burns, the company was taken over in 1954 by David Edgerton and James McLamore. They decided to expand the chain's locations.

In 1967, Burger King was purchased by the Pillsbury Company. At the time of the purchase, Burger King had 274 restaurants across the United States, according to Encyclopedia, and was worth an estimated $18 million.

It was the second-largest fast-food chain in the country, behind McDonald's.

Today, Burger King has ‎18,700 locations worldwide.

However, just like when Burger King first opened, the chain falls short of McDonald's, which has more than 40,000 locations worldwide.

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An early version of the Burger King logo featured curved letters sandwiched between two yellow burger buns.

Other versions included images of the Burger King, the chain's mascot at the time.

Burger King's current logo has remained the same since its introduction in 1998.

The logo includes a similar motif of the red Burger King name sandwiched between two yellow buns but also features a blue swirl around it.

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Burger King grew in popularity due to its quick-service model.

Early stores made use of a device called an "Insta-Broiler," according to Mashed. The machine cooked burgers extremely quickly and was required to be used in all Burger King restaurants in the 1950s.

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In 1957, Burger King released its signature burger, the Whopper, which is still around today.

The Whopper cost 37 cents, compared to Burger King's original burger, which cost 18 cents, and came with sauce, cheese, lettuce, pickles, and tomatopiled on top of a larger patty.

Burger King still broils and flame-grills its burgers. Today, the price of a Whopper depends on location — in New York City, for example, it varies by restaurant but costs around $7.

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Pillsbury executive Norman Brinker brought great success to Burger King and notably started what's now known as the "Burger Wars."

Brinker wanted Burger King to overcome its biggest competition, McDonald's, in both sales and product quality.

In the late 1970s, Brinker started what would come to be known as the "Burger Wars" when a Burger King ad called McDonald's out by name and claimed that the chain's burgers were smaller, according to Forbes.

McDonald's tried to sue the company, but sales began to take off.

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From the 1960s to the 1980s, the Burger King mascot was a cartoon king. In 2004, Burger King revealed its new mascot, "The King."

The mascot became known for his plastic, smiling head. The head was originally used in the 1970s as an inspiration for the drawn character. After it was restored, the head would become an iconic symbol for the brand.

The King appeared in his first commercial in 2004. In the ad, he woke up next to a man in bed before handing him a breakfast sandwich.

The character was pulled from Burger King ads in 2011 after complaints that the king was "creepy."

"People want a reason to go back to Burger King … There are no plans to bring the King back anytime soon," Alex Macedo, then senior vice president of marketing, told USA Today, according to Forbes.

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However, in 2015, the King was back on his throne.

Burger King reportedly paid $1 million for the King to appear in Floyd Mayweather's entourage during his boxing match against Manny Pacquiao.

According to Adweek's Lost Remote, the conversation around Burger King increased by 1,343% on May 3, the day of the fight, compared to the previous day.

However, publicity was largely negative due to the fact that Mayweather had pleaded guilty to domestic abuse charges and had spent time in jail.

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Burger King has since focused its advertisem*nts on showcasing its food's high-quality ingredients with no preservatives added.

This 2020 advertisem*nt shows a Whopper decomposing and molding over a 28-day period, intending to show that Burger King food is "real" and free of artificial preservatives. The video had 2.1 million views on YouTube as of July 14, 2020, but has been set to private by the chain's YouTube channel as of June 2024.

"At Burger King we believe that real food tastes better," Fernando Machado, Restaurant Brands International's chief marketing officer, said in a press release. "That's why we are working hard to remove preservatives, colors, and flavors from artificial sources from the food we serve in all countries around the world."

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In the 1980s, Burger King began to see a decline in sales.

After Brinker left the company to start his own restaurant, sales declined.

However, when Burger King made the switch from Pepsi-Cola products to Coca-Cola, sales began to rise, History of Branding reported.

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Burger King also attempted to attract new customers with a larger menu that included chicken and fish sandwiches.

In 1979, former McDonald's executive Donald N. Smith introduced the new menu items and signature burgers as a strategy to target older customers who were willing to spend a little more on quality food, according to Encyclopedia.

The plan worked and sales rose by 15%.

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Since then, Burger King has continued to add new items to its menus.

In 2004, the chain advertised a "low-carb" version of its Whopper, which meant taking away the bun.

In 1978, Smith began testing breakfast items.

The chain originally ran into problems with its flame broilers. While they could easily cook burgers, it was harder for the broilers to cook breakfast items in the same way that a traditional grill could.

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The Croissan'wich was introduced in 1983 and French Toast sticks were released in 1985.

Burger King's breakfast menu includes multiple kinds of croissant-based breakfast sandwiches, pancakes, biscuit sandwiches, hash browns, and breakfast burritos.

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Some menu items that have come and gone include Burger King's Angus 'Shroom and Swiss steak burger and its Italian chicken sandwich.

In 2005, Burger King launched its Angus 'Shroom and Swiss steak burger. The Italian chicken sandwich was an iteration of the original chicken sandwich topped with cheese and tomato sauce.

Burger King brought back a similar chicken parm sandwich in 2017, Fox News reported, but the item has since been removed from the menu.

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Now, spicy chicken sandwiches are among the most popular items on many fast-food menus.

Burger King's spicy chicken sandwich arrived in 2018. It competes with popular spicy chicken sandwiches from Chick-fil-A or Popeyes.

In years past, the more meat the better.

Burger King now only offers one triple-stacked burger, but fans fondly remember fan favorites like the Angry Triple Whopper. In 2019, the chain brought the Angry Whopper back for a limited time before removing it from the menu again.

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But in 2019, Burger King introduced plant-based burgers to its menu, becoming the first major national fast-food chain to do so.

Burger King's Impossible Whopper was hugely successful for the chain. According to CNN, Burger King reported a 10% increase in sales following the launch of the Impossible Burger in 2019.

However, while the burger is plant-based, Burger King came under fire after a customer sued the company for serving a burger that was not actually 100% vegan.

Since the patties are cooked on the same grills as traditional meat burgers, they may come into contact with meat by-products. Burger King said it never advertised the burgers as vegan or promised to cook them in a particular way.

However, if customers would like to make the burger vegan, they can ask for it to be microwaved and for it to be served without mayonnaise, per the company's website.

Burger King was the first fast-food restaurant chain to offer dining rooms.

When Burger King added its plastic-furnished eating areas in the 1950s, its drive-thru windows were gradually phased out. However, in 1975, the drive-thru windows were reintroduced, according to Encyclopedia.

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Burger King ushered in the internet age when it introduced its own version of an internet cafe in the late 1990s.

One Burger King restaurant, located on Broadway in New York City, allowed customers to surf the web at one of 20 PC computers if they purchased a meal.

Today, you won't find computers in Burger King restaurants.

However, you'll probably find free WiFi and some self-service machines where you can place your order.