The World's Greatest Hamburger
by The Sleuth
Just couldn't shake it.
I cranked up the stereo, but after each song had ended it was still there pounding in my head, over and over again: "In-N-Out, In-N-Out, that's what a hamburger's all about." This annoying little ad jingle was making me crazy. It's not enough to hear the 60-second spot each and every day on the radio; now the darn tune was embedded in my brain cells so deep that I thought I'd need some sort of expensive electroshock treatment to get it out. I was humming it, singing it, even adding my own lyrics. And boy, did I feel like a dweeb when I caught myself whistling the tune out loud in the crowded supermarket check-out line. Despite all the hours of great music I hear every day on the radio, there I was thoroughly fixed on this musical ode to a sandwich. Next thing you know, I'd bust out into a jig celebrating the discovery of secret sauce.
If the creator of this repetitious sing-song ditty knew the effect it was having on me, he too would be dancing a jig. Annoying as it may be, I couldn't deny the fact that I was hungry, and a hot In-N-Out hamburger was on my mind. Indeed, in a moment of weakness, I gave in to this mentally-intrusive marketing strategy. I drove to the drive-thru, grabbed a juicy, dripping Double-Double with fries and started wolfing. And wouldn't you know it, two minutes later, with my belly testing the integrity of the button fly, I purged the silly tune.
Silly as it may be, that song has been the jingle for In-N-Out Burger for more than 15 years now. But a simple song isn't the only reason why this quickly growing West Coast chain has achieved a major cult following unlike any other in the fast food business. When David Letterman took his Late Show to Los Angeles for one week in 1994, he taped a video segment in which he toured fast food restaurant drive-thrus in a convertible with Zsa Zsa Gabor. Of all the chains they visited, In-N-Out Burger was the only one to get wild applause and whoops-whoops from the audience.
Sadly, if you live anywhere other than Southern California or Nevada it's possible you've never heard of In-N-Out Burger. I grieve for you. With the company's slow, steady growth, it's likely you'll have to come to it before it comes to you. But, if you ever do have the opportunity to taste what I think is the best hamburger in the business, jump on it. In the meantime, allow me to brief you:
The first In-N-Out stand opened in 1948, not too far away from the location where the first McDonald's opened that same year. Both were in Southern California. The chains started in much the same way with very limited menus, quick service and affordable prices; and the restaurants were run by the families who founded them--the McDonald brothers at McDonald's and the Snyder family at In-N-Out.
But in 1954, when Ray Kroc struck an arrangement with McDonald brothers Mac and Dick to franchise the restaurants, the similarities between the two chains would become fewer as the years went on. In-N-Out has never franchised. The chain never adopted a breakfast menu or special meals for kids with prizes inside. In-N-Out has expanded slowly and has done very little to change its menu from that of 40 years ago, other than to modestly raise prices. In-N-Out's menu is the smallest you'll find in the industry with only five items--hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, shakes and soft drinks. Everything is made-to-order from fresh ingredients. The ice cream in the shakes is real, the lettuce is hand-leafed and those delicious french fries are made from fresh potatoes with the skin left on, sliced right before your eyes.
Harry and Esther Snyder founded their chain on simplicity and committed to keep things that way. The restaurants were originally designed specifically as drive-thrus, and since each burger was made to order, the Snyders chose to keep the menu small. All of this special attention means better food that may take a little longer to get into your mouth. The average wait per order at an In-N-Out drive-thru window is said to be twelve minutes. McDonald's is easily half that.
It's no mistake that most of the In-N-Out restaurants are located next to highway offramps with signs shooting high into the sky. Freeway visibility was certainly a location strategy tailor-made for the massive freeway system of Southern California. Combine that with heavy advertising over the radio waves and good, affordable food, and you're destined to have cars lined up by the dozens.
This strategy has so far worked great for the chain, but a major increase in popularity and cult status came from a mutated promotional campaign that started in the early 80's. This was back when the company started producing bumper stickers emblazoned with its name and logo. These brightly colored stickers had "In-N-Out" printed on the top line, with "Burger" below that. Some creative soul cut the "B" and the last "R" from "Burger", changing the word into "urge." While many saw "In-N-Out Urge" as an innocuous statement reflecting a craving for a juicy Double-Double, others knew the message had a more sexual intent. In a short time In-N-Out was producing the most popular bumper sticker on the roads of Southern California.
This didn't exactly thrill the strongly Christian family who had founded the company. We're talking about a family so committed to their beliefs that you'll find "John 3:16" printed in tiny red letters on the bottom of every soft drink cup. Although visibility and awareness of the chain was suddenly peaking, the company chose to redesign the bumper stickers, making this sort of alteration much more difficult. Today the bumper stickers still say "In-N-Out" on them, but the "Burger" has been converted to an artist's rendering of a hamburger.
Today In-N-Out boasts over 140 outlets in California and Nevada. Harry Snyder passed on in 1976 and his son Rich took over until 1993, when he died in a plane crash. Rich's brother Guy stepped up to Chairman of the Board and CEO. The company continues to remain privately owned and has no plans to go public or to franchise, and is now expanding into Northern California. And for over 50 years now there have been no major changes to the successful formula. Now that's what a hamburger's all about.
Great. There I go humming again. |
