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A&W's 1/3rd Pound Burger Failed, So It's Trying a 3/9th Pound Burger Instead

Snarky campaign pokes fun at Americans who didn't realize it was larger than a Quarter Pounder

aw-3-9-burger-newspaper-2021 — The tale of A&W's failed 1/3rd pound burger often resurfaces in social media, and now is the basis of an official campaign.A&W

By T.L. Stanley

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There are two things that marketers are typically loath to do: own up to their mistakes and talk trash about the American public.

A&W does both in a new campaign that revisits one of its failed product launches from 40 years ago and points the finger directly at math-averse people who didn’t understand that its burger, weighing a third of a pound, was heftier than its famous quarter-pound competitor.

At the same time, the Kentucky-based chain is premiering a rebranded version of that burger—with an ad starring its mascot, Rooty the Great Root Bear—that tries to make up for its epic faceplant of the past while still having a bit of fun at consumers’ expense.

T.L. Stanley

T.L. Stanley is a senior editor at Adweek, where she specializes in consumer trends, cannabis marketing, plant-based food products, pop culture and creativity.

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