Selling healthy vs. selling what people want

Burger King and McDonald's seem to have completely different opinions on the future of the fast food industry. While McDonald's is making a big show of caring about your health, Burger King is creating increasingly fatty menu items because their research shows that's what customers want. Burger King's breakfast business is up 20% since their introduction of the "Enormous Omelet Sandwich" with 46 grams of fat. Meanwhile McDonald's is claiming to be merica's No. 1 distributor of apples, thanks to its new Apple Dippers and a new Fruit & Walnut salad -- a bowl of apples, grapes and yogurt advertised in Vogue magazine with illustrations of lithe young women. Burger King discovered that although fast-food fans made up only 18 per cent of the population, they accounted for almost half of the company's profits. So Burger King is going to cater to these customers and not fear tobacco-style litigation against fast food outlets. But McDonald's isn't taking any chances.

Here's two good articles on the marketing perspectives of McDonald's and Burger King.