Markets 
Down with the crown.
Carl’s Jr. is igniting a beef with Burger King by offering free food to customers who trash the Whopper slinger’s iconic crown.
“Easiest free burger of your life,” the petty patty purveyor declared in a viral Instagram post. “Because you deserve better, king.”
Per the campaign, dubbed the “Stealing The Crown” promotion, Carl’s Jr. will give a free Angus Maximus to the first 100 people who submit an Instagram DM featuring photos of themselves throwing away BK’s headpiece.
Participants can also qualify for the burger by sending in an “old receipt” from a competitor, provided that the proof of purchase is dated between January 1, 2026, and September 7, 2026, according to their site.
Participants must send their submissions by 11:59 on September 25 for a chance at landing the Angus Maximums, which entails 1/3 pound of 100% Angus beef topped with American cheese, onion, pickle, mayo, and Special Sauce and bookended by a brioche bun.
Meanwhile, winners of this symbolic regicide can claim their complimentary Angus Maximus through October 27.
This deal is only available to customers 18 and older who are Carl’s Jr. My Rewards members. The promo stipulates that customers must also refrain from “illegal, obscene, defamatory, or otherwise inappropriate” content.
Viewers jumped at the chance to shade BK for a free burger, with one writing, “On my way.”
“Yooooo image sent!” announced another.
“You guys beefing?” quipped one wit, while another said their new slogan should be “down with the crown!”
While this campaign could add fuel to the flamebroiler, it might take more than petty potshots to dethrone Burger King.
According to the QSR 2026 annual report ranking fast food chains, Carl’s Jr. placed 37th out of 50 based on sales, growth, and other metrics, The Takeout reported.
Burger King, meanwhile, came in eighth.
BK’s success is often credited to the “Reclaim the Flame” campaign, which saw the burger monger commit $700 million through 2028 to overhauling the restaurant’s design and tech and increasingly having the Whopper take center stage.
They notably revamped the recipe by bolstering the bun, overhauling the mayo recipe, and serving the signature burger in a box rather than swaddled in paper — a change BK president Tom Curtis analogized to outfitting it with a “tuxedo instead of a leisure suit.
In response to customer feedback this past winter, the burger boss also rolled out the Whopper Guarantee, pledging to remake any Whoppers that customers deemed sub-par.
No stranger to slinging mud himself, Curtis was also filmed gleefully devouring a Whopper in an apparent shot at McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski’s bungled Big Arch eating demo this past Spring.
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