Third-pound burger

The third-pound burger is a hamburger made with a patty that weighs one-third of a pound (approximately 5.3 ounces or 150 grams) before cooking. It is larger than the more common quarter-pound burger (4 ounces or 113 grams) typically sold by fast-food chains. The third-pound burger gained notable attention in the 1980s due to an ill-fated marketing campaign by A&W Restaurants in the United States, which has since become a case study in consumer behavior and market communication.

In the 1980s, A&W, under then-owner A. Alfred Taubman, sought to challenge McDonald's highly successful Quarter Pounder by introducing a larger, higher-quality hamburger. The campaign, called "Third is the Word," was designed to promote A&W's third-pound burger as a better value for the same price as McDonald's quarter-pound burger. Despite the promise of more meat for the same price, the campaign failed to resonate with consumers.

Taubman recounted the experience in his book, Threshold Resistance. He described how the company aggressively marketed the third-pound burger through TV and radio promotional spots, but sales remained lackluster. Confused as to why the burger was not selling, Taubman hired a market research firm to conduct a study.^[1]

The research firm organized focus groups to understand why A&W's third-pound burgers weren't competing well with McDonald's Quarter Pounders. The results revealed a surprising source of consumer resistance: many participants mistakenly believed that one-third of a pound was smaller than one-fourth (quarter) of a pound. Focus group participants expressed confusion over the price, asking why they should pay the same amount for a "smaller" third-pound burger.

This misunderstanding stemmed from consumers focusing on the numbers "3" and "4," leading them to conclude that one-third (1/3) was smaller than one-fourth (1/4), even though the opposite is true.^[2]

A similar account was reported by The New York Times in 2014, which cited the A&W third-pound burger as one of the most vivid examples of consumer arithmetic failure.^[3] In taste tests, customers actually preferred A&W's third-pound burger to McDonald's Quarter Pounder, and it was less expensive. However, consumers misunderstood the fraction, believing they were being overcharged for a smaller burger.

According to a CBC report, more than half of the people surveyed about the burger said they didn't buy it because they thought they were getting less meat for the same price as McDonald's Quarter Pounder.^[4] The New York Times echoed this sentiment, noting that the larger number "4" in "¼" confused customers, making them think it was a better deal than "⅓."

The failure of A&W's third-pound burger campaign has since become a widely discussed example of how marketing messages can be misunderstood, and how consumer numeracy plays a role in decision-making. The story is often shared in the context of marketing, advertising, and consumer behavior studies as a cautionary tale about the importance of clear communication.^[5]

In retrospect, the third-pound burger incident highlights how companies need to account for consumer perceptions and potential misunderstandings when crafting marketing strategies. Some analysts also suggest that more effective education or clearer messaging might have salvaged the campaign.^[6]

The story of the third-pound burger has been referenced in business literature, marketing case studies, and even in popular culture as an example of how numbers and fractions can be confusing for the average consumer. The A&W third-pound burger incident remains a significant lesson in the history of advertising, emphasizing the gap between consumer logic and numerical understanding.^[3]

In recent years, A&W has embraced the anecdote as part of its brand identity. The chain occasionally revisits the story in marketing material to engage with nostalgic customers and leverage the viral nature of the story in the digital age. The third-pound burger is now seen by some as a quirky part of A&W's history.^[5]

• Quarter Pounder
• Consumer behavior
• Fast food marketing
• Numeracy