The Breakfast Jack is a breakfast sandwich served at Jack in the Box. It consists of ham, egg, and cheese on a bun.
Ad copy[]
Grilled ham, a freshly cracked egg & melty American cheese all on a toasted buttery bakery bun. A masterpiece, if we do say so ourselves. [1]
Development[]
Introduced in 1969, the Breakfast Jack was the first breakfast sandwich offered by a fast food chain.[2] It was initially tested in the San Diego and Los Angeles markets for a period of 1½ years before being expanded chainwide. Prior to its introduction, Jack in the Box had experimented with a number of breakfast offerings, including a Continental breakfast, doughnuts, french toast, and an egg and cheese sandwich, all of which proved unsuccessful at the time.[3]
In 1972, McDonald's released a competing product, the Egg McMuffin.[4] An Associated Press article the following year characterized the rival chains as "battling for control of a lucrative new market - the breakfast trade, long a bastion of coffee shops." A 1975 Los Angeles Times article listed the competing breakfast sandwiches as part of a "spiraling arms race" between the two restaurants.[5] A product development manager for Jack in the Box griped about the situation in a 1988 article: "McDonald’s Egg McMuffin was a copy of our Breakfast Jack, and they came out with that product almost a year and a half after we did. But with their mass marketing and the media dollars, it appeared to everybody that they were the first to come out with it.”[6]
Variations[]
- Bacon Breakfast Jack - Replaces the ham with bacon.
- Sausage Breakfast Jack - Replaces the ham with sausage.
- Chicken Breakfast Jack (discontinued) - Replaces the ham with chicken.[7]
Advertising[]
Early television commercials for the Breakfast Jack from the ad agency Doyle Dane Bernbach utilized the tagline "when you're up early or up late."[3]
Gallery[]
Reception[]
The Breakfast Jack ranked 9th in a list of the "Top 10 Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches" by the website Fast Food Club.[8] Mashed ranked it 11th out of 14, deeming it "[not] that substantial compared to other items on the menu." [9] Eat This, Not That declared the Bacon Breakfast Jack, the original Breakfast Jack, and the Sausage Breakfast Jack to be the three healthiest items on Jack in the Box's breakfast menu, albeit only by comparison.[10]
References[]
- ↑ Breakfast Jack. Jack in the Box. Accessed November 12, 2024.
- ↑ "The Ultimate Guide to Opening Your First Jack in the Box Franchise." Jack in the Box.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Rossman, Martin. "Egg McMuffin vs. Breakfast Jack: a Whole New Market." Associated Press/Los Angeles Times. July 9, 1973.
- ↑ Daszowski, Don. "Serving Up the Facts on Fast Food Breakfast." liveaboutdotcom. July 6, 2012.
- ↑ Harvey, Steve. "Burger War: Arch Rivals Put Heat On." Los Angeles Times. April 12, 1975.
- ↑ DeWyze, Jeannette. "How the menu minds at Jack-in-the-Box figure out what you'll eat." San Diego Reader. August 4, 1988.
- ↑ Coley, Ben. "Jack in the Box Expects Product Innovation to Drive Growth." QSR Magazine. February 21, 2020.
- ↑ Alden, Kory. "Top 10 Best Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches." Fast Food Club. March 21, 2024.
- ↑ Maxwell, Samantha. "Popular Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches Ranked Worst To Best." Mashed. July 7, 2020.
- ↑ Upton, Julie."The Best & Worst Jack in the Box Breakfast Orders, According to a Dietitian." Eat This, Not That. May 23, 2024.