Burger Wars: One Small Bite From A CEO, One Giant TikTok Trend For Fast Food Companies

The "Big Arch" was supposed to be McDonald’s triumphant entry into the 2026 "burger supremacy" race. It was supposed to be an impressive, tiered answer to the global demand for a more satiating, premium beef experience.

Instead, the launch was hijacked by a single, awkwardly framed TikTok.

In the now-infamous video, McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski was captured taking a meticulously staged, strangely silent bite of the Big Arch. The internet, never one to let a moment of corporate "cringe" go to waste, immediately pounced on the stiff delivery and the clinical perfection of the burger in the video versus the reality in the boxes.

Critics mocked the "delicate" bite and Kempczinski's choice to refer to the food as a "product" rather than a meal. But the real story isn't the original video; it’s the savage "CEO Response" trend that followed. From global giants to regional cult favorites, many major franchises decided that if the Golden Arches was going to provide a stage, built on a corporate misstep, they would shine on it; they intended to  ride the social media wave of public interest.

Here is how ten fast-food powerhouses capitalized on the "Big Arch" blunder to prove their own CEOs actually know how to eat a burger.

Burger King

When the McDonald’s video dropped, Burger King’s President Tom Curtis didn't hesitate. BK released a "No-Cuts" video of Curtis unrolling a Whopper and taking a massive, messy bite, complete with mayonnaise at the corners of his mouth.

He jokingly noted that the only thing missing was a napkin, a direct jab at Kempczinski’s sterile tasting.

Wendy’s

Wendy’s USA Pete Suerken was the next up to feature in the sizzling trend and he successfully leveraged the brand's signature sass.

Wendy's posted a reaction video where Suerken pointed at a square patty and a sign reading "Fresh, Never Frozen," followed by, “our (frosty) machines are always working”’ a clear jab highlighting notorious customer complaints of McDonald's milkshake machines never working. It was a masterclass in the "Scrappy Paradox": low production, high impact.

A&W Canada

A& W with their widely popular spokesman, Allen Lulu, used the Burger Wars as an opportunity to market their Teen Burger, jokingly mimicking and exaggerating the description of the ingredients which made up the burger.

His cheeky smile and huggable appearance, made TikTok viewers propel their video to over 19 million views in the 4 days!

Gigglewaters

Gigglewaters CEO, Rachel Fine Walters used her screentime to give a professional critique of McDonald’s video, opining on factors such as the lighting, Kempczinski’s use of the word “product” to describe the burger.

In the video, one of her gripes was that Chris didn’t show “The Cross Section” of the burger (the side profile after cutting the burger in half). She closed the video by listing the toppings on the giant burger, called “The Commissioner”, before taking a giant bite out of it.

Original Tommy’s

Original Tommy’s didn't need a fancy script. Dawna Bernal, the President and family-member leader of the iconic brand, simply sat at a table in the establishment, with a burger covered in their world-famous chili, and took a massive bite.

It was the ultimate "Scrappy" play, proving real food is messy.

Red Robin

Red Robin commissioned Brian Sullivan, VP of Culinary to jump onto the trend because who better to boast about food, than the person who actually creates and cooks it. Sullivan guiltily confesses that he may not be the CEO of Red Robin, but that he “stole his lunch” which was the ‘A1 Steakhouse Burger’.

He boasted about the ingredients, before taking a huge bite of the burger with juices from the beef flowing freely down, while his mouth remained stuffed from the food he had just devoured.

Smashburger

CEO Jim Sullivan, wasted absolutely no time after introducing himself on TikTok before simply statement, “Apparently, this is what CEOs are doing now”.

He then took a bite out of his company’s burger. There was no analysis, no fanfare, he just simply ate and that gave us a valuable reminder that sometimes, simplicity is a secret weapon.

P. Terry’s Burger Stand

P. Terry’s founder Patrick Terry went viral for actually not eating his burger on camera, instead proclaiming that he “actually eats at P. Terry’s everyday” and offered to buy lunch for ten people who engaged with the video promising to actually have lunch with them and a bunch of friends.

He highlighted their all-natural and high-quality ingredients for their burgers, fries and shakes.

KFC 

KFC entered the "CEO Burger Wars" with a viral video led by Catherine Tan-Gillespie, the President of KFC U.S. While other CEOs were meticulously dissecting their own burger builds, Tan-Gillespie took a sharp detour. In her response video, she is seen sitting at an office desk.

Looking directly into the lens with a calm, self-assured smile, she remarked: “At KFC, we’ll leave that beef for the boys. No 'products' here, just finger-lickin' good chicken." She then proceeded to take a massive, audible crunch of a Colonel’s Original Chicken Sandwich.

First Watch

In a calm, bright video filmed at one of their sun-drenched locations, CEO Chris Tomasso, a seasoned leader who has been with the brand since 2006, addressed the camera without a burger in sight.

He cheekily smiled as he introduced “ what we’ve all heard about and all of our friends have been talking about,”- the return of the Harvey’s B.E.C (bacon, egg and cheese sandwich). He went on to list the toppings and ingredients which included aioli and “super crispy sour dough” before chomping into his sandwich which was accompanied by an impressive ASMR crunch.

The Final Bite: Why Authenticity is the New Special Sauce

The "Burger Wars" of 2026 have proven that the modern consumer has developed a sophisticated awareness of advertising and they can sense a board-approved, over-rehearsed corporate moment from a mile away. When McDonald’s released a video that felt like a "clinical trial" for a burger, both their audiences and their competitors had a field day, creating parody videos, which  created an avalanche of hilarious and memorable social media posts.  

The trend even gave smaller, lesser known franchises and businesses, like ‘Original Tommy’s, an opportunity to be seen and introduced to a wider audience when their own imitation videos were linked to the viral videos of larger brands like Wendy's .

Brands win when they lean into the "Scrappy Paradox." In the age of "Agentic AI" and "Real-Time Data Loops," the most powerful tool a CEO has isn't a teleprompter: it’s a napkin and a personality which transcends screens. The lesson for the rest of the industry is clear: if you’re going to ask for a piece of the customer’s wallet, you better be willing to take a real, messy, unpolished bite of your own product first.