President of Burger King Resigns Post

Burger King Corp. President Jay O. Darling has resigned after 19 months in the job and has expressed an interest in becoming a franchise holder in the fast-food chain, the company announced. J. Jeffrey Campbell, Burger King chairman and chief executive, will assume direct control of Burger King in addition to his current duties.

Darling, 37, who started with Burger King 15 years ago as an assistant restaurant manager, led the company during its “Herb” advertising campaign, which centered on the pursuit of an elusive, nerdy character by that name. The ads failed to boost sales as much as the company anticipated.

Nevertheless, company spokesman Ben Morse said that when compared to an ad campaign by rival Wendy’s International Inc., “The awareness figures on ‘Where’s the Beef?’ and our Herb program are just as high. We had record highs on awareness.”

Darling was executive vice president of operations in January, 1985, when he succeeded Jerry Rueheck as president. Rueheck also chose to open franchises after his departure.

Burger King and its franchises had annual sales of more than $4.5 billion at 4,743 restaurants worldwide this year, Morse said. Sales rose 13% and the chain added 518 outlets in the past year.