|
CNBC'S MOST SHARED
- Unemployed? Bored? Make Money Playing Beer Pong
- Social Networking's 'Naked' Truth
- WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell on the Ad Recession
- The Highest Grossing (Inflation Adjusted) Movies of All Time
- Merrill's McCann Seen as UBS Wealth Frontrunner
- Geek Squad V. Gizmodo
- Warren Buffett's Top Three Investment Rules for the Average American
- Why You Should Watch Fund Flows
- Earnings 101: Beyond The Big Names
- Blog You!!!
- Eric Schmidt on Government Scrutiny and Economic Recovery
- Market 360: The Week's Best & Worst
- Geek Squad V. Gizmodo
- Brandt: Google Chrome OS in the Post-PC Age
- Other People Are Weirder Than We Are
- Bank Failures: Is The Nightmare Over? (Video)
- California Here I Go? No.
- Roginsky: No More Mr. Nice Guy
- Commercial Conundrum
- Stimulus Will Kick in Later this Year: President Obama
- Lender CIT Group Hires Premier Bankruptcy Adviser
- Government Selling Bank Stakes for Too Cheap: Panel
- Buffett's Top 3 Investment Rules for Average Americans
- Market Insider: Earnings Loom in the Week Ahead
- Bulls Get Summertime Blues, But It's Hot Fun for Bears
- As Banks Fail, Strong Institutions Become More Visible
- GM IPO in Second Quarter 2010 at the Earliest: CFO
- Merrill's McCann Seen as UBS Wealth Frontrunner
Text Size 
McDonald's is "following the herd" and field-testing a massive new Angus Third Pounder sandwich in Southern California, CNBC's Jane Wells reported -- burger in hand. 
Rivals Burger King and CKE Restaurants have already had such offerings for years. (CKE's Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains gained further notoriety -- and free secondary marketing buzz -- with those racy Paris Hilton carwash ads.)
Why is the world's No. 1 eatery chain following a trend, rather than setting it?
WD Partners executive vice president Dennis Lombardi commented, McDonald's "has had one of the most amazing comebacks" in recent years. Part of that turnaround has hinged on McDonald's focus on healthier offerings such as salads.
One imagines that Mickey D's, once accused of corrupting Americans' dietary habits, would indeed be cautious about launching a delicious new guilty pleasure.
Still, McDonald's competitors have made strong profits, if slim margins, from their own versions of the giant "steak" burgers, Wells said. And as Tony Brenner of Roth Capital Partners said, "If egg rolls became wildy popular, McDonald's would start making them" -- just as it aped Starbucks' premium coffees, to great acclaim.
But McD's competitors aren't scared: John Schaufelberger, Burger King's VP of product marketing, said, "we've been in the Angus steakburger business for three years -- and we're consistently ranked No. 1." And CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder, who wowed the Western U.S. with the Monster Thickburger, said, "We're not concerned about it. We're pretty sure" that McDonald's new offering is merely "a McAngus product."
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes