Double Burger Double Check - Big Carl vs. Big Mac Rematch!

Last week I recreated a scene from this ad for Carl's Jr.'s "Big Carl".

In the commercial, the Big Carl dwarfs the Big Mac in a side-by-side visual comparison.

When I bought the two burgers myself. The actual Big Carl was a huge disappointment. It wasn't nearly as tall as portrayed.

A lot of people commented on that article, which you can read here:

Big Mac vs. Big Carl

Among the comments were pronouncements that the Big Carl had been squished:

It's clear to me that the Carl's packaging compresses it a little to make it look shorter, while the Big Mac box preserves it's original height. The Carl burger could be the size it looks in the commercial before it's put into the package.

I think that Big Carl is also subject to a certain amount of "shrinkage" when he's wrapped up tight in his protective covering, and he ends up not so Big.

Your Big Carl was flattened. I have had 3 of them in last 6 month and they always tend to be taller than what you are portraying in your pictures. Perhaps next time, you should order dine in and take pictures of it instead of squishing it on the way home.

..and that without its middle bun, the Big Mac would be smaller:

All that seems to be missing is alot of bun

Nobody cares about the mid bread slice of the big mac, you should try to compare without it : less bread, better hamburger, for me.

If you remove the middle slice from the Big Mac - you will end up with something height of Big Carl. You are actually paying 89 cents for that middle slice.

I feel the need to point out that the Big Mac has an extra slice of bread between the meat patties. If you take that out, it is probably shorter then the Big Carl. You are basically paying an extra dollar for a slice of filler.

Take the EXTRA piece of bread of the middle of the Big Mac. McDonald's wins via extra bread. I'll take the flatter one.

To me, the most important nugget of information was not which one tasted better, or which one was a better value, but that Carl's Jr. had produced an ad which was false.

Nonetheless, I returned to Carl's Jr. with a ceramic dinner plate, eager to see if I could emerge with anything resembling the monster from the commercials.

To further give it a fighting chance, I ordered the Big Mac first, and I ordered it without a middle bun.

This time, at the register, I requested a Big Carl without a wrapper. I presented the cashier with my plate and ask that the burger be placed on it, so as not to be squished.

After a brief conference with the manager, they delivered it as requested. Mostly.

It still had a paper juice-catcher on its rear end.

Immediately, the difference was apparent. This Big Carl looked a lot better than the last one!

I was ready to give it another chance in a head-to-head test!

Could the never-wrapped Big Carl live up to its advertised reputation?

No.

It's still shorter.

More photos

Burger King vs. McDonalds

January 7, 2010.

Photographic Height/Weight Chart

The Weight of Clothing