Editing Whopper (section)

==History==
The Whopper was created in 1957 by Burger King co-founder [[James McLamore]] and originally sold for 37 [[US cents]]<ref name="Smith 2012 p. 66">{{cite book | last=Smith | first=A.F. | title=Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat | publisher=ABC-CLIO | issue=v. 1 | year=2012 | isbn=978-0-313-39393-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7-WcKK01H1cC&pg=PA66 | access-date=November 7, 2017 | page=66 | archive-date=April 9, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409180013/https://books.google.com/books?id=7-WcKK01H1cC&pg=PA66 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="whopper">{{cite press release |url=http://bizjournals.bison.com/press/pr2-28-02bk.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061019160640/http://bizjournals.bison.com/press/pr2-28-02bk.html |archive-date=19 October 2006 |title=Burger King Celebrates As The WHOPPER Turns 45 |author=BKC |publisher=BizJournals on Bison.com |date=8 February 2002 |access-date=22 October 2007}}</ref><ref name=Oss-37cents>{{cite web |last=Kent |first=Cindy |title=Monday Morning Quick Take |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2007-12-17/business/0712140402_1_burger-king-corp-whopper-ncci-holdings |work=Orlando Sun Sentinel |access-date=12 November 2013 |date=17 December 2013 |archive-date=12 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112085644/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2007-12-17/business/0712140402_1_burger-king-corp-whopper-ncci-holdings |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="BLS"/> (equivalent to US${{inflation|US|0.37|1957|r=2}} in {{Inflation/year|US}}).{{Inflation/fn|US}} McLamore created the burger after he noticed that a rival restaurant in Gainesville, Florida, was succeeding by selling a larger burger.<ref name="Bradford 2017">{{cite news |url=https://www.gainesville.com/news/20170513/gainesville-it-turns-out-is-actual-home-of-whopper |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519014740/https://www.gainesville.com/news/20170513/gainesville-it-turns-out-is-actual-home-of-whopper |archive-date=19 May 2017 |title=Gainesville, it turns out, is the actual 'home of the Whopper' |author=Bradford, Levi |publisher=Gainesville Sun on Gainesville.com |date=17 May 2017 |access-date=5 December 2018}}</ref> Believing that the success of the rival product was its size, he devised the Whopper, naming it so because he thought it conveyed ''"imagery of something big"''.<ref name=WP-History>{{cite news |last=Carman |first=Tim |title=The 55-cent Whopper and the evolution of burgers |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/the-55-cent-whopper-and-the-evolution-of-burgers/2012/12/03/8dffc456-3d68-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=6 November 2013 |date=3 December 2013 |archive-date=23 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923022132/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/all-we-can-eat/post/the-55-cent-whopper-and-the-evolution-of-burgers/2012/12/03/8dffc456-3d68-11e2-bca3-aadc9b7e29c5_blog.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Major fast food chains did not release a similar product until the McDonald's [[Quarter Pounder]] and the [[Burger Chef]] Big Shef in the early 1970s.<ref name=WP-History/><ref name="BI-Whopper v Big Bac">{{cite web |last=Lubin |first=Gus |title=For National Cheeseburger Day, Find Out What Sets A Big Mac And A Whopper Apart |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/big-mac-v-whopper-on-national-cheeseburger-day-2013-9 |work=Business Insider |access-date=6 November 2013 |date=18 September 2013 |archive-date=11 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131111192613/http://www.businessinsider.com/big-mac-v-whopper-on-national-cheeseburger-day-2013-9 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SHJ-Big Shef">{{cite news |title=Hardee's brings back the Big Shef |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=20070715&id=v0IfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1707,5287934 |access-date=6 November 2013 |newspaper=Spartensburg Herald-Journal |date=15 July 2007 |page=E5 |archive-date=12 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212045336/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=20070715&id=v0IfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1707,5287934 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Initially served on a plain bun, the Whopper switched to a [[sesame seed bun]] around 1970.<ref name=MNT-History>{{cite web |last=Doss |first=Lanie |title=The Whopper Turns 55: Five Outrageous Moments in BK History |url=http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2012/12/burger_king_celebrates_whopper.php |work=Miami New Times |access-date=6 November 2013 |date=6 December 2012 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109003256/http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2012/12/burger_king_celebrates_whopper.php |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1985, the weight of the Whopper was increased to {{convert|4.2|oz|g|abbr=on}}, while the bun was replaced by a [[Kaiser roll]].<ref name="nrn-1/3lbwhopper">{{cite news |last=Romero |first=Peter |title=Burger King shifts marketing chiefs: irate franchisees spark latest upheaval |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-6935524/burger-king-shifts-marketing-chiefs-irate-franchisees |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109002425/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-6935524/burger-king-shifts-marketing-chiefs-irate-franchisees |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 November 2013 |work=Nation's Restaurant News |access-date=1 November 2010 |date=19 December 1998 }}</ref> This was part of a program to improve the product and was accompanied by a US$30 million<ref name="BLS">{{cite web |title=CPI Inflation Calculator |publisher=United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics |url=http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |access-date=2014-05-16 |archive-date=2019-09-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917111520/https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> (US${{inflation|US|30|1985|r=0}} million in {{inflation/year|US}}){{inflation/fn|US}} advertising campaign featuring various celebrities such as [[Mr. T]] and [[Loretta Swit]].<ref name="OSS-Whopper size">{{cite web |last=Gale |first=Kevin |title=President Serves Up Whopping Goals |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-07-15/business/8501290068_1_burger-king-chairman-jay-darling-campbell |work=Orlando Sun Sentinel |access-date=7 November 2013 |date=15 July 1985 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109004141/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1985-07-15/business/8501290068_1_burger-king-chairman-jay-darling-campbell |url-status=dead }}</ref> The goal of the program was to help differentiate the company and its products from those of its competitors.<ref name=Answers>{{cite web |last=Rodriguez |first=Ginger G. |title=Gale Directory of Company Histories: Burger King Corporation |url=http://www.answers.com/topic/burger-king |work=Answers.com |publisher=The Gale Group |access-date=7 November 2013 |archive-date=28 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028190343/http://www.answers.com/topic/burger-king |url-status=live }}</ref> The Whopper reverted to its previous size in 1987 when a new management team took over the company and reverted many of the changes initiated prior to 1985.<ref name="NRN-Whopper size">{{cite web |last=Romeo |first=Peter |title=Burger King chief plays peacemaker; Olcott faces management challenge in new role as president. |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-4686664/burger-king-chief-plays-peacemaker-olcott-faces-management |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109002427/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-4686664/burger-king-chief-plays-peacemaker-olcott-faces-management |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 November 2013 |work=Nation's Restaurant News |access-date=7 November 2013 |date=16 February 1987 |type=subscription required}}</ref> In 1994, the Whopper sandwich's Kaiser roll reverted to a sesame seed bun, eliminating the last trace of the sandwich's 1985 reconfiguration.

The packaging has undergone many changes since its inception. Unlike McDonald's, the company never used the [[Clamshell (container)|clamshell]] style box made of [[Styrofoam]], so when the environmental concerns over Styrofoam came to a head in the late-1980s, the company was able to tout its use of [[paperboard]] boxes for its sandwiches.<ref name="nyt-styrofoam">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/business/a-setback-for-polystyrene.html?scp=5&sq=Burger%20King%20Styrofoam&st=cse&pagewanted=all |title=A Setback for Polystyrene |last=Holusha |first=Joshua |date=18 November 1990 |work=New York Times |access-date=21 October 2009 |archive-date=1 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401163816/https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/18/business/a-setback-for-polystyrene.html?scp=5&sq=Burger |url-status=live }}</ref> To cut back on the amount of paper that the company used, the paperboard box was eliminated in 1991 and was replaced with [[waxed paper]].<ref name="nrn-paper">{{cite news |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-11240596/bk-replaces-boxes-recyclables-rolls-curly-fries-barbecue |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109023744/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-11240596/bk-replaces-boxes-recyclables-rolls-curly-fries-barbecue |url-status=dead |archive-date=9 November 2013 |title=BK replaces boxes with recyclables, rolls curly fries, barbecue sandwich |date=9 September 1991 |work=Nation's Restaurant News |access-date=21 October 2009 |type=subscription required}}</ref> For a short time in 2002, the company used a gold-toned, [[aluminum foil]] wrapping for the sandwich as part of the 45th anniversary of the sandwich.<ref name=PRN-Foil>{{cite press release |title=The Whopper Turns 45, Celebrates in New York City |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-whopperr-turns-45-celebrates-in-new-york-city-76242302.html |work=PR Newswire |publisher=Burger King Corporation |access-date=12 November 2013 |date=4 March 2003 |archive-date=13 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213005813/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-whopperr-turns-45-celebrates-in-new-york-city-76242302.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The packaging was changed again in 2012 when the company moved to a half-wrapped sandwich packaged in a paperboard box, marking a return to the paperboard box for its packaging since 1991.<ref name=Time-Packaging>{{cite web |last=White |first=Martha |title='Home of the Whopper' Looks a Lot Like Its Neighbors |url=https://business.time.com/2012/08/07/home-of-the-whopper-looks-a-lot-like-its-neighbors/ |work=Time Magazine |access-date=6 November 2013 |date=7 August 2012 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109025654/http://business.time.com/2012/08/07/home-of-the-whopper-looks-a-lot-like-its-neighbors/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The '''Whopper Jr.''' was created, by accident, in 1963 by Luis Arenas-Pérez (a.k.a. Luis Arenas), the only Latino in the Burger King Hall of Fame and president and CEO of Burger King in Puerto Rico.<ref name="Junior">{{cite web|url=http://www.elnuevodia.com/negocios/finanzas/nota/fallececreadordelwhopperjr-2009985/|title=Fallece creador del Whopper Jr.: Luis Arenas, quien presidió las operaciones de Burger King en Puerto Rico, murió esta semana.|first=Marian|last=Díaz|work=El Nuevo Dia|location=[[Guaynabo, Puerto Rico|Guaynabo]], [[Puerto Rico]]|language=es|date=20 February 2015|access-date=20 February 2015|archive-date=20 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150220171744/http://www.elnuevodia.com/negocios/finanzas/nota/fallececreadordelwhopperjr-2009985/|url-status=live}}</ref> Upon the opening of the first Burger King restaurant in [[Carolina, Puerto Rico]], the molds for the (standard) Whopper buns had not yet arrived to [[Puerto Rico]] from the United States mainland and thus there were no buns to make and sell the company's flagship Whopper offering. Arenas opted for honoring the advertised opening date but using the much smaller regular hamburger buns locally available. The result was such a success that Burger King adopted it worldwide and called it the Whopper Jr.<ref name="Junior"/>

In 2020, as part of a global advertising campaign showing the company's commitment to dropping all artificial preservatives, Burger King ran the "Moldy Whopper" ad showing a Whopper decomposing and rotting over a period of 34 days. The Moldy Whopper campaign reached a level of awareness 50 percent higher than Burger King's ad in the [[Super Bowl LIII|2019 Super Bowl]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-burger-chain-showed-mouldy-food-in-its-advertising-1.6466625|title=This burger chain showed mouldy food in its advertising|website=Cbc.ca|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=26 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220626124951/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/undertheinfluence/this-burger-chain-showed-mouldy-food-in-its-advertising-1.6466625|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ogilvy.com/work/moldy-whopper|title=The Moldy Whopper – Burger King &#124; Our Work|website=Ogilvy.com|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=23 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523182432/https://www.ogilvy.com/work/moldy-whopper|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Competitors' products ===
Competitors such as McDonald's and Wendy's have attempted to create burgers similar to the Whopper, often nicknamed a ''Whopper Stopper'' during the development phase.<ref name="bnet-bw">{{cite news |url=http://business.highbeam.com/137330/article-1G1-20437027/mcdonald-woos-franchisees-25k-storeupdate-funding-promise |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110100816/http://business.highbeam.com/137330/article-1G1-20437027/mcdonald-woos-franchisees-25k-storeupdate-funding-promise |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2013 |title=McDonald's woos franchisees with $25k store-update funding promise |last=Shannon |first=Stevens |work=Brandweek |access-date=2 October 2009 |date=23 March 1998 |quote=The MBX must deliver on value, which it does right now", said Ball, referring to the big beef, lettuce and tomato sandwich now in test, dubbed the latest "Whopper Stopper. |type=subscription required}}</ref> Wendy's created the [[Big Classic]] with similar toppings but served on a [[bulkie roll]], while McDonald's has created at least six different versions, including the McDLT,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-4026592/burger-giants-launch-new-product-assaults-mcd-speeds |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110100808/http://business.highbeam.com/409700/article-1G1-4026592/burger-giants-launch-new-product-assaults-mcd-speeds |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 November 2013 |title=Burger giants launch new product assaults; McD speeds rollout of McDLT sandwich&nbsp;— McDonald's |first=David |last=Zuckerman |publisher=[[Nation's Restaurant News]] |date=18 November 1985 |access-date=23 October 2007 |type=subscription required}}</ref> the [[Arch Deluxe]],<ref name="USNWR-Whopper Stopper">{{cite web|last=Mannix |first=Margaret |title=A Big Whopper Stopper? |url=https://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/960506/archive_009590.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131115173158/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/960506/archive_009590.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 November 2013 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=15 November 2013 |date=28 April 1996 }}</ref> and the [[Big N' Tasty]], most of which generally failed and are not sold in most restaurants today.<ref name="AG-Whopper Stopper">{{cite web |url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/070297/fea_whopper.html |title=McDonald's hoping new burger a Whopper stopper |agency=Associated Press |work=[[The Augusta Chronicle]] |date=2 July 1997 |access-date=23 October 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071030042615/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/070297/fea_whopper.html |archive-date =30 October 2007}}</ref><ref name="AP-Whopper Stopper">{{cite web |last=Edwards |first=Cliff |title=McDonald's hoping new burger a Whopper Stopper |url=https://apnews.com/9adc7bc152ef3a1d4e0739b2c65b3660 |work=Associated Press News |access-date=15 November 2013 |date=1 July 1996 |archive-date=5 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705234013/https://apnews.com/9adc7bc152ef3a1d4e0739b2c65b3660 |url-status=live }}</ref>