Tag: Hold the pickles hold the lettuce

Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce
Special orders, don’t upset us
All we ask is that you let us serve it your way
Have it your way

Ah, a company that cares! Burger King ran this commercial around 1974. Battling McDonald’s with the “Have it your way” campaign in 1973, Burger King put their service in the spotlight with the jingle, “Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce. Special orders don’t upset us.” The campaign increased ad awareness by 50%. The Little King was retired, and “Have it your way” was adapted to target children with ad efforts tagged “All kids are different” and “Pickle-less Nicholas.”

In 1976-77, Burger King changed advertising agents and went with “America loves burgers, and we’re America’s Burger King.” In 1982, they launched a “burger wars” effort with the slogan “Battle of the burgers,” comparing the Whopper with those of McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

The jingle’s upbeat, friendly tone made it feel like Burger King employees were singing just for you. It also helped that the melody was incredibly catchy—it got stuck in your head and stayed there.

Even decades later, people who grew up in the ’70s and ’80s can instantly recall that tune. In fact, when Burger King revived “Have It Your Way” in later years, they leaned heavily on nostalgia for that original “Hold the pickles…” jingle.

Anyway…I wish they would bring back those uniforms.