McDonald's Launches World Cup Burger

McDonald's will soon serve up a mega-burger as part of a U.K. promotion tied to the FIFA World Cup.

The burger, which will be 40% larger than McDonald's Big Mac and tally some 669 calories, will be available starting June 1 in the U.K. to coincide with the soccer World Cup. It will sell for about $5 USD.

The World Cup burger is a limited-time product McDonald's is offering to promote its official partnership with the event (soccer's equivalent to the Super Bowl in American football). Other partners include Adidas, MasterCard, Coca-Cola, Gillette, Anheuser Busch and Hyundai.

The burger will be available in U.K. restaurants through the end of the tournament. The World Cup takes places June 9 to July 9 in Germany.

"[The promotion] is designed to offer [soccer] fans a little bit more of what they love during the tournament," a McDonald's U.K. spokesperson said. "It is a limited-edition offer, so something a bit special for Big Mac fans in the U.K."

The new menu item "fits with our marketing strategy around World Cup, which is focused on bringing the excitement of the tournament to life for fans in our restaurants," the spokesperson added. TV spots and P-O-P support.

The World Cup burger launch comes amid rising concerns about childhood obesity. Critics say McDonald's tie to the World Cup raises concerns about children's diets. According to BBC News, some British lawmakers are circulating a petition again the burger. In response, McDonald's U.K. said it would continue to sell salads and fruit while the World Cup burger is on sale, BBC reported.

McDonald's is trying to make a name for itself beyond burgers and fries. Last month, the chain launched its newest salad, the Asian Salad, in the U.S. as part of the QSR's Go Active Happy Meal for adults, which included a customizable workout DVD. At a press event to promote the salad, William Lamar, Jr., CMO of McDonald's USA, said McDonald's is all about giving consumers food choices, from burgers and fries to salad and fruit (PROMO Xtra, May 19, 2006).

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