Source: うるふせっと urufusetto (@wseti) - image used with permission

What matters more than size: Akihabara Burger King reignites rivalry with McDonald’s in poster

At 7 AM this morning, long lines formed in front of the shiny new McDonald's at Showa Dori in Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood. The opening not only marked a return of the Golden Arches after a 26-month absence, but it also marked the return of a friend for the neighboring Burger King.

In our March 24th article, we suggested that there may be more interesting episodes in the old rivalry between the two fast-food chains which had played out over the course of 22 years in Akihabra.

It looks like the first episode has begun.

On the day that McDonald's opens its doors, Burger King put up a new poster headlined with the words: 私たちの価値 watashi-tachi no kachi.

The phrase means: "Our value." However, for those who had enjoyed the rivalry play out between the two stores, another meaning was obvious. When McDonald's left in 2020, Burger King put up a poster with a touching tribute but also hiding the message: 私たちの勝ち watashi-tachi no kachi, meaning "Our victory" as an acrostic within it:

Reproduced with permission from うるふせっと urufusetto (@wseti)

Beneath the header, Burger King's message reads as follows:

"Whether in artificial dyes, seasonings, fragrances, or preservatives, we use as few artificial additives as possible in our stores. We have begun offering value (in our focus on) "real food," beginning with the Whopper. Two years ago, a pandemic suddenly struck. In the midst of the changes in our daily lives, we became acutely aware of the importance of protecting our bodies and the value of good health. That's why we are trying to make our products safer. We are committed to simple ingredients and simple production. We have gone through a lot of trial and error in order to provide you with both good taste and peace of mind. We have carefully cultivated real flavor. Confident in the uncompromising taste of our ingredients, we will continue to deliver burgers made with the utmost care and attention to detail."

This message is sincere and continues the theme of "value" announced in the title. However, for those who saw the alternate meaning of the title and remembered the last poster with its hidden message, it was only natural to search the text for another acrostic.

Reproduced with permission from うるふせっと urufusetto (@wseti)

Surely enough, this time there was another one composed of the final letters of each row, which read:

店のデカさよりだいじなこと。 mise no dekasa yori daiji na koto
What matters more than a store's size.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out next. Will McDonald's find a way to respond? Only time will tell. In the meantime, many people in the neighborhood are surely glad to see the friendly rivalry reignited.

By - grape Japan editorial staff.

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