The Truth About A&W's Third-Pound Burger and the Major Math Mix-Up

By now you've probably heard the story: once upon a time, A&W Restaurants released a third-pound burger that failed to catch on thanks to a misunderstanding of fractions. Just how accurate is this tale of math mistakes and fraction flubs? Read on for the scoop.

In the 1980s, then-owner A. Alfred Taubman launched the "Third is the Word" campaign to promote A&W's new third-pound burgers and compete with another brand's smaller quarter-pound burger.

Taubman recounted this example in his book, Threshold Resistance. "We were aggressively marketing a one-third-pound hamburger for the same price...but despite our best efforts, including first-rate TV and radio promotional spots, they just weren't selling."

Confused why A&W's burgers weren't able to compete even though the burgers were priced the same as their competitors, Taubuman brought in a market research firm. 

The firm eventually conducted a focus group to discover the truth: participants were concerned about the price of the burger. "Why should we pay the same amount for a third of a pound of meat as we do for a quarter-pound of meat?" they asked. 

It turns out the majority of participants incorrectly believed one-third of a pound was actually smaller than a quarter of a pound. 

Despite the confusion, Taubman took an important lesson from the experience: "Sometimes the messages we send to our customers through marketing and sales information are not as clear and compelling as we think they are." 

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