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Apparently A&W tried to introduce a “1/3rd Pounder” whose failure to gain popularity was attributed to people not realising 1/3 is bigger than 1/4. So I suspect

by smcl 2y ago

Apparently A&W tried to introduce a “1/3rd Pounder” whose failure to gain popularity was attributed to people not realising 1/3 is bigger than 1/4. So I suspect that may have informed that decision

tpmoney 2y ago
Despite this persistent story, Hardee’s seems to do just fine with their “third pound thick burgers”. I suspect digging into this story would uncover that A&W just didn’t make a good burger that people wanted
- tzs 2y ago
  It turns out that market research conducted afterwards showed that it was indeed people not realizing 1/3 is bigger than 1/4 [1]. 1. https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractions https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractio...
  - tpmoney 2y ago
    The out of context quoting of the owner summarizing an unnamed market research firm hired by the company as published on the company’s website hardly seems the sort of unbiased, well researched and documented evidence one might want for “Americans are confused by fractions they’ve dealt with all their lives”. The same Americans who are ordering their lunch meats from the deli in 1/4 and 1/2 lb increments. The same Americans whose kitchens are full of measuring cups with 1/4 and 1/3 markings and sizes. The same Americans who measure their housing projects in 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 inch fractions. Especially since at the time the burger in question was launched the company had declined from a high of 2400 franchises to just 500 in the span of 10 years. Maybe some individuals in the focus group were confused, that would not surprise me, since you can find a "lizard people" contingent in any group. But I rather suspect the real answer is just “failing company continued to struggle to find its market”, rather than a significant fraction of Americans who use fractions in their day to day lives forgot in this one specific instance how they work.

by smcl 2y ago

tpmoney 2y ago

Despite this persistent story, Hardee’s seems to do just fine with their “third pound thick burgers”. I suspect digging into this story would uncover that A&W just didn’t make a good burger that people wanted

tzs 2y ago
It turns out that market research conducted afterwards showed that it was indeed people not realizing 1/3 is bigger than 1/4 [1]. 1. https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractions https://awrestaurants.com/blog/aw-third-pound-burger-fractio...
- tpmoney 2y ago
  The out of context quoting of the owner summarizing an unnamed market research firm hired by the company as published on the company’s website hardly seems the sort of unbiased, well researched and documented evidence one might want for “Americans are confused by fractions they’ve dealt with all their lives”. The same Americans who are ordering their lunch meats from the deli in 1/4 and 1/2 lb increments. The same Americans whose kitchens are full of measuring cups with 1/4 and 1/3 markings and sizes. The same Americans who measure their housing projects in 1/2, 1/4, 1/8 and 1/16 inch fractions. Especially since at the time the burger in question was launched the company had declined from a high of 2400 franchises to just 500 in the span of 10 years. Maybe some individuals in the focus group were confused, that would not surprise me, since you can find a "lizard people" contingent in any group. But I rather suspect the real answer is just “failing company continued to struggle to find its market”, rather than a significant fraction of Americans who use fractions in their day to day lives forgot in this one specific instance how they work.