If you’ve ever been to a Michael Jordan Steakhouse, you know that athletes and celebrities lending their names to restaurants is nothing new. But you might not know exactly how not-new it is. The 1960s saw an explosion of chains—including one that hired Muhammad Ali as its face and pitchman. How did it pan out? Let me answer that question with a question: When’s the last time you saw a Champburger? For Defector, Dan McQuade tells the tale.
The Champburger prospectus was not promising. The three founders had no prior experience in the restaurant business, which did not augur well for a business that they planned to franchise around the country. The spot’s sole gimmick was that Ali would allegedly show up to the opening of every single Champburger in order to promote that new location. This would become a problem if Ali was in fact imprisoned for draft evasion. “During any period of incarceration, Ali will not be able to personally perform under his Agreement with the company and this fact could have material adverse affect on the company’s business,” the prospectus noted. In its coverage of the new business, the Philadelphia Tribune did not mince words: “The necessary cautious phrasing makes the company sound as if it had a death wish.”
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