Today we buttered up the market again.

My last 7k will now stay put for a few weeks and the portfolio should grow or die in peace 🫣

At most, my new purchase today $DPZ (+0.76%) will be topped up again if the market remains weak.

$MCD (+0.05%) , $QSR (-0.29%)

In 1981, McDonald's and Burger King went to war.

Burger King hired a 5-year-old girl for an ironic commercial.

McDonald's then sued the five-year-old.

This was the beginning of the most expensive fast food war in history.

McDonald's dominates the fast food market with its iconic golden arches and Happy Meals.

But Burger King was tired of playing second fiddle.

So they published an ad that would start a decades-long war:

They hired 5-year-old Sarah Michelle Gellar (some may remember her) to do something unprecedented:

They attacked McDonald's by name on national television.

In the ad, she compared McDonald's burgers to Burger King's, claiming they were 20 percent smaller.

What happened next would change fast food marketing forever ...

McDonald's immediately filed a lawsuit:

- Burger King

- Their advertising agency

- And yes, even 5-year-old Sarah Michelle Gellar herself

"I was the first person to mention another competitor's name on a job," Gellar later recalled.

But that was just the beginning ...

The legal dispute triggered the so-called "Burger War".

Both chains have abandoned their traditional family-friendly marketing.

Before 1980, both focused on positive campaigns - McDonald's with Happy Meals, Burger King with "Have it Your Way".

In 1984, McDonald's launched its counterattack:

The McDLT - a direct competitor to the Whopper.

The innovation? A unique two-chamber packaging:

- Warm side dish: burger and bottom bun

- Cool side dish: lettuce, tomato and top bun

"Keep the hot side hot and the cool side cool."

They put EVERYTHING on the McDLT:

80-100 million dollars were spent on the campaign.

Convinced Jason Alexander to perform a Broadway-style musical commercial, years before his Seinfeld fame.

The burger sold for $1.49 (about $3.60 today).

But there was a problem ...

McDLT's innovative packaging was made of polystyrene.

As environmental awareness grew at the end of the 1980s, McDonald's came under increasing pressure.

They discontinued production of the product in December 1990 and replaced it with the McLean Deluxe.

Meanwhile, Burger King was preparing its own disaster ...

In 1985, Burger King launched the "Where's Herb?" campaign.

The concept? A promotional campaign to find Herb - a fictional character who has never eaten a Whopper.

Customers could get Whoppers at a reduced price by saying "I'm not Herb" when ordering.

However, there was one big problem:

No one knew what Herb looked like until he was unveiled at Super Bowl XX in January 1986.

The campaign left customers completely confused.

It became known as one of the worst marketing failures in history.

It was their last campaign with the agency J. Walter Thompson.

The rivalry led to unprecedented innovations in the fast food sector:

- New packaging technology such as the McDLT's double compartment

- Creative marketing approaches

- Menu diversification

- Focus on food quality

Both chains were forced to evolve or die.

The burger wars have shown us something crucial:

Innovation is not just about products.

It's about how you tell your story.

And in today's digital age, this is more important than ever.

McDonald's and Burger King spent millions fighting for attention.

$MCD (+0.05%) , $QSR (-0.29%) , $CMG (-0.01%) , $YUM (-1.42%) , $WEN (-0.15%) , $DPZ (+0.76%)

⚠️⚠️⚠️Breaking News⚠️⚠️⚠️

ATTENTION to all who have a deposit with Trade Republic, today more than 100 savings plans will be executed with me, the real offensive starts at 15.30 and can take up to 4 hours, as there may well be "massive" "failures" and "delays" during this time, I ask you to keep calm, take a deep breath and not to bombard Trade Republic customer support with inquiries. Thank you very much 😁

As far as the Ultimate Homer "ETF" is concerned, many new stocks were added in September 😁

In since September 2

🇺🇸Chipotle $CMG (-0.01%)

🇺🇸Costco $COST (+0.06%)

🇺🇸Domino's Pizza's $DPZ (+0.76%)

🇺🇸Texas Roadhouse $TXRH (+1.5%)

🇺🇸TransDigm $TDG (+0.12%)

Newly launched today

🇺🇸Booz Allen Hamilton Holding
$BAH (+0.88%)

🇺🇸Blackstone $BX (+0.18%)

🇺🇸KKR & Co
$KKR (+0.09%)

🇺🇸Vulcan Materials
$VMC (+1.52%)

🇺🇸CSX $CSX (+0.47%)

🇺🇸Carrier Global $CARR (+0.61%)

🇺🇸Hilton Worldwide $HLT (-0.59%)

🇺🇸Merck & Co $MRK (-0.22%)

🇺🇸Moodys $MCO (+0.22%)

🇺🇸Rollins $ROL (-0.56%)

🇺🇸Toll Brothers $TOL (+0.79%)

🇺🇸Watsco $WSO (+0.23%)

🇺🇸Cardinal Health $CAH (+0.14%)

🇺🇸Colgate Palmolive $CL (+0.79%)

🇺🇸Emerson Electric $EMR (+2.5%)

🇺🇸Nordson $NDSN (+0.24%)

🇬🇧BAE Systems
$BA. (-0.89%)

🇬🇧RELX
$REL (-0.15%)

🇬🇧Bunzl
$BNZL (+0.59%)

Dominos Pizza $DPZ (+0.76%) reported first-quarter results Monday morning that beat Wall Street forecasts on both the top and bottom lines.

For the first three months of 2024, the company said it grew revenue 22% year-over-year to $3.58 per share, well above the $3.40 surveyed by FactSet. Total revenue was $1.08 billion, up 6% from a year ago and slightly ahead of Street expectations.

"Our first quarter results showed that our Hungry for More strategy is off to a strong start: driving more sales, more business and more profits," CEO Russell Weiner said in a statement, referring to a five-year growth plan the company announced in December. The plan, dubbed Hungry for More, aims to open an additional 1,100 new stores by 2028, increase retail sales by 7% each year and grow operating profits by 8% each year.

The pizza chain has over 20,000 restaurants around the world, most of which are run by franchisees who pay royalties and fees to the company. Global sales across the Domino's network totaled $4.36 billion in the first quarter, up 7.3% year-over-year, excluding the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates.

Same-restaurant sales increased 5.6% in U.S. stores, eclipsing the 1% growth in international locations. U.S. growth was driven primarily by higher carryout and delivery order counts across all income cohorts, Weiner said. In the first quarter, Domino's opened 164 new restaurants, all but 20 of which are international.

"We are focused on franchisee profitability and business growth, which will fuel the company's ability to win and create meaningful long-term value for our shareholders," Weiner said in Monday's statement.

Domino's began working with 2023 Uber Eats as part of a push to reach more affluent households and improve sales in the delivery channel. The company began marketing on the platform in the first quarter of this year. Management expects Uber sales to increase and reach 3% of total revenue by the end of the year.