Monday, June 11, 2007

Spam Wars: BK v. McD

Did you know: Over 6 billion cans of Spam are sold every year?

It looks like Burger King is going head-to-head against McDonald's in a battle over breakfast in Hawaii. Both of the fast food giants are now offering breakfast platters featuring slices of Spam served with eggs and white rice in their Hawaiian locations.

Now while I am, in fact, a fan of Spam - yes, I believe that you can call yourself a foodie and enjoy canned spiced ham - I wonder how well these breakfast platters will sell against the various types of loco moco-style plates sold by local eating establishments.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is still time to head to this year's Spam Jam held in Austin, MN (home to Hormel headquarters, the Spam Museum, and the plant that produces Spam for most of North America and Europe). The carnival-type celebration coincides with local Fourth of July festivities, featuring parades and fireworks which often relate to the popular luncheon meat.

Loren said...

I wonder if my mom would like to go to Spam Jam. She's been to the Spam Museum, ya know...

Brent S. said...

While on my honeymoon on Kaua'i a couple years ago, I went to a supermarket and was astounded at the size of the Spam endcap displays -- and that was after I had girded myself to see a lot of it, given the islanders' love for the processed meat product.

An off-topic question for spam experts: Is Hormel still trying to fight the kleenex-ization pf their trademark that comes from the ubiquitous use of the word spam for junk email? Or have they decided they've lost that battle?

--Brent

Loren said...

With regards to junk email, it appears that they don't mind the usage of the word in that context as long as it is not capitalized.

Brent S. said...

Friends, I come bearing the Good News: NPR's Kitchen Window takes on Spam, including a recipe for "lobster thermidor with mornay sauce garnished with truffle pate, brandy, fried egg and Spam". (Sorry, that title was so... unexpected that I had to hyperlink the whole thing!)