I love bizarre societal quirks. Little details that many may miss and travel guides never address. I was confronted with one such oddity on a recent trip to Australia. I noticed a lot of restaurants that looked like Burger King, they even had a similar menu; but they weren’t Burger King. That began a quest to learn the story behind Hungry Jack’s.
Every where I have been I’ve noticed a lot of Western chains. KFC is the most popular, followed by McDonalds, Pizza Hut and usually Burger King. When I was in Australia I saw the first three, but not the fourth. But we did keep seeing Hungry Jack’s, which for all intents and purposes looked just like Burger King. It demanded further investigation.
In the 1970s, Australian fast food giant Jack Cowin wanted to introduce Burger King to Australia. The problem was that the name had already been trademarked by a takeaway food shop in Adelaide. Unable to brand the new restaurants as Burger King, Cowin reviewed pre-existing trademarks already registered by Burger King and eventually decided on Hungry Jack, which was actually one of Pillsbury’s US pancake mixture products. Cowin added “’s” and Hungry Jacks’s was born.
The first Burger King/Hungry Jack’s in Australia opened in Perth in 1971, and has since expanded to more than 300 locations across Australia.
Thus was solved the mystery of Hungry Jack’s and the lack of Burger King restaurants in Australia.
What are some fun oddities you’ve found on your travels?
Who am I? I am a typical Gen-Xer and recovering cubicle-dweller who has a passion for all things travel. My site brings a unique perspective that is hard to find online. I am not a backpacker, nor am I...
Matt, I love these stories! Similar situations exist everywhere. To name a couple, in Spain Corona is a tobacco brand (hence, Coronita) and for years Puma had to sell under the Dassler-Puma brand.
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
Thanks, I love these little stories too.
[Reply]
Funny, Matt! My favorite quirk — I saw a “6-Eleven” in Phnom Penh.
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 9:37 am
Ha, love it
[Reply]
It’s kind of funny because we did have a few Burger Kings in Australia in the late 90s but then they got replaced by Hungry Jack’s, like the rest of them. Maybe the Aussies felt too connected to the oddity by then to give up on it…
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
October 3rd, 2011 at 11:35 am
Actually, it’s because of a dispute between BK and the franchise owner. The trademark expired at that time and BK took the opportunity to lash out at the owner by opening their own restaurants. There was a lawsuit, BK lost and eventually they entered into a new agreement and it all reverted to Hungry Jack’s. Just file that under “who knew?”
[Reply]
Loved this – I noticed this during my time in Australia but never thought to research it! Thanks for this
[Reply]
I heard this story a couple of times when I was in Oz! Totally forgot about it.
[Reply]
The last time I was in Perth they still have Burger Kings. Thanks for shedding some light on the Hungry Jacks situation.
[Reply]
Whew, so relived- can I get a whopper there? We’ve got a few KFC’s in Chiang Mai but my favorite one is a street stall called KFG. His chicken looks awesome.
[Reply]
Nope no Burger Kings in Perth (am from there)
Hungry Jack’s is the way we like it! Burger King just sounds weird to me
The Kiwis like it though.
[Reply]
Ah, I remember seeing Hungry Jacks everywhere when I was down under. Didn’t have any idea there was this link to Burger King.
[Reply]
Quirky post, like it. And Hungry Jack sounds more properly Australian than Burger King anyway
[Reply]
wow that’s pretty interesting. A travely quirk I never really thought about! I love have the background story when I see stuff like that!
[Reply]
Haha I never knew the reason why we had Hungry Jack’s in Australia – thanks!
At one stage they did try rebranding a number of Hungry Jack’s to Burger King but I have noticed that they’ve all reverted back to Hungry Jack’s branding now.
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
November 10th, 2011 at 6:38 pm
Yup! just chalk it up to strange but true
[Reply]
We saw Duffin Dagels donut shop in Spain with all the colors and styles of Dunkin Donuts. IN Germany, Subway has now become Mr Sub in a lot of places. To the point that the posters aren’t even different, just a different logo sticker over top of the old one.
[Reply]
Actually, in Adelaide we did have Burger King in the 60′s (I still remember the ‘foot long’ hot dogs). IIRC the Anzac Highway Burger King was renovated/rebuilt and became the first Adelaide Hungry Jacks.
[Reply]
I would love to know why the Burger King trademark in Adelaide expired / lapsed? I mean the trade mark would have been worth millions to sell it to Burger King themselves surely?
[Reply]
Matt Long Reply:
May 23rd, 2012 at 4:55 pm
LOL I agree, apparently they were pretty short sighted
[Reply]
stefan aussie Reply:
December 22nd, 2012 at 11:41 pm
they can’t because big companies will make law suite against you eventually you will loose the case its not like internet domain. when you filed opposition it will escalate further to the court.
[Reply]