Last but not least: Burger war in the Saanenland
Unnoticed by the rest of Switzerland, a fierce battle for advertising dominance in the Obersimmental was playing out in the *Anzeiger von Saanen*.
It all began on January 16, when the Hotel Alpine Lodge Saanen-Gstaad advertised on its front page that it sold "the best burgers far and wide".
On January 23, the answer from the competition follows immediately: Basta by Dalsass, the restaurant of the gourmet hotel Bernerhof Gstaad, lays claim to the title of burger king of Saanen:
The burger chefs at the Hotel Alpine Lodge are not about to let the claim that they don't have a fork stick against the Basta burger sit on its head. In the follow-up advertisement on January 30, the non-existent selection of the competition is specifically attacked:
In their advertisement from February 6, the burger lovers at the Bernerhof rub the competition's noses in the fact that they deliberately focus on quality rather than quantity. What's more, the fries at Basta are deep-fried in olive oil - you start to get hungry just reading about it...
The battle for supremacy in the Saanen burger issue, which has now degenerated into a veritable "burger war", spills over into the editorial section of the newspaper on February 10. The two hoteliers lack any objectivity in their pleas - an idea of the newspaper. Thomas Frei from Basta summarizes conclusively in his text: "The hamburger at Basta by Dalsass is better. Basta. Not because the restaurant has 15 points. But simply because it's better." And Alpine Lodge boss Günter Weilguni writes that his competitor cultivates "the experience of boredom" with its single burger.
After this excursion into the editorial section, the burger war returns to the front-page advertisement. Humbug instead of hamburgers on February 13:
As if two squabblers weren't enough, a third contender for the burger crown also joins the fray on February 20: The Landhaus restaurant also claims to serve the best burger in Saanen.
On February 27, the two competitors Alpine Lodge and Basta by Dalsass are joining forces - at least for a joint advertisement. Readers are invited to decide for themselves which burger tastes best in the 4 for 3 campaign.
On March 6, a half-page article appears in the newspaper Interview with the two opponents.
The denouement: a mock battle orchestrated from A to Z for marketing reasons. Very few people caught the scam. According to the two alleged burger warriors, some employees in particular reacted "violently" to the competition's jibes. However, the campaign had an "extreme" effect on burger sales figures. Understandable. Bon appétit. (hae)
