Did I not show enough goodwill to Henry-Alex Rubin?

So in my post last Saturday, I was somewhat negative about Burger King's Bullying Jr. ad. Excerpts:

The ad has received deserved praise from various people, but it appears that the key constituency was not consulted.

Burger King customers....

Now there may be times when a corporation DOES choose to make a strong social or political statement. A store that sells guns, for example, has a customer base that is interested in the Second Amendment, and therefore would make statements consistent with their customers' beliefs.

But how does Burger King's anti-bullying statement resonate with its audience?

Will Burger King have a net GAIN of customers as a result of this ad? How many people will say, "I don't eat junk food, but Burger King hates bullies so I'll go there"?

Joel Garry responded on Twitter.

Net gain of customers is the wrong metric. Buzz and goodwill are the right metrics, but difficult to measure in sales lift.

And difficult to measure in the short-term, quarterly world in which U.S. (and Canadian, and Brazilian) business operates. Burger King's commitment to do good things isn't a one-off:

The better job we do at being responsible today, the better our business will be in the future. We know that from a pure business sense, it can help us manage risk, enhance employee morale and retention, strengthen brand loyalty, build goodwill in and strengthen the communities in which we operate and can directly affect the bottom line in terms of energy savings and waste reduction. We also know that it must be a way of thinking and fully embedded within our brand.

And perhaps the strategy is working, despite concerns about Burger King's tax status. The American Customer Satisfaction Index released its 2017 report on full-service and limited-service restaurants, and Burger King did well in the survey.

Hamburger chains all score below the industry average. After lagging Wendy’s for more than two decades, Burger King grabs the crown among burger chains with a 1% uptick to 77. Wendy’s (unchanged at 76) and Jack in the Box (+1% to 75) follow closely behind. McDonald’s continues its run at the bottom of the industry, flat at 69.

So what restaurant sits atop the fast food industry?

Chick-fil-A remains the leader, unchanged at an ACSI score of 87.

This despite the fact that some believe that Chick-fil-A's corporate responsibility stand is...um...deplorable.

Maybe Burger King should close on Sunday.