Fast-food chain Burger King raised questions and created an online buzz in Türkiye on Tuesday after changing the name of the logo on its social media accounts, leaving many wondering whether it went for major rebranding.
Around afternoon local time many social media users across platforms noticed the name "Börgır" instead of Burger King, while two videos promoting the new name were shared.
Although no official statement came from the company or Tab Gıda, which holds the franchise operations of Burger King in Türkiye, many read the change to be likely permanent.
Starting its activities in Türkiye back in 1995, the chain today serves customers at over 700 branches across the country.
However, despite significant attention garnered around "Börgır," as of Wednesday morning both the Instagram handle and webpage carried Burger King's name still.
Users across platforms such as Instagram, X and even LinkedIn debated the potential reasons for the change of name, with some indicating it might be related to the boycott of some Western brands due to war in Gaza.
Others suggested the new name is more culturally adjusted and it actually is closer to the pronunciation of the word burger in Turkish language. Some, yet did not agree and went on to say "This is not how burger sounds in Turkish."
The brand along with other major companies including its competitor McDonald's and coffee chain Starbucks has been facing challenges in recent months due to its perceived support of Israel in its relentless war on Gaza.
Sales of some of these brands dwindled for the first time in years, and Starbucks even went for a change of CEO after disappointing second quarterly results.
Burger King with two catchy videos promoted the name "Börgır" on Tuesday, with the first one simply displaying the name in front of one of its restaurants along with the phrase "Ne oluyor," – Turkish for "What's going on?"
The second video published a few hours later promoted it further with phrases such as "Should I have written börgır?" and "Should we order börgır?"
The ad goes on to say: "This is how they call us here" and one man asks "And in Izmir?" with the woman answering "In Izmir, too."
Burger King was founded nearly 70 years ago in the U.S. state of Florida and has around 19,000 outlets worldwide.
Rebranding is a common marketing strategy that companies of different sizes opt for with the goal of developing a new identity or bolstering relations with customers. However, it often more focuses on design or conceptual change rather than a full name change.
