I love it when companies have fun with their brands, but did BK go a bit too far in its new TV spot where pissed off moms hire a hit man to kill the King? At first I thought, yes - they've crossed the line into bad taste territory.

But talking with Adcom VP Phil Yaeger, I changed my mind. Burger King isn't a me-too company when compared to McDonald's. BK has struggled with a decade-long identity crisis, and landed on a branding position skewed seemingly toward teenage boys with anti-cultural attitudes and huge appetites.

A younger, edgier audience just might find this TV spot cool; and the King is such a bizarre character that offing him mob-style is accepted as part of the ad campaign's overall irreverent tone.

My end analysis: If it's okay to put out a hit on your brand's icon, then your brand position is probably in real trouble. BK should fall back on the basics, with a renewed emphasis on what gained them initial strong market traction: The backyard quality and taste only they deliver.

Then, of course, the burgers would actually have to taste much better than they do.

I guess I'm trying to say don't buy stock in BK, because if they don't secure more valuable mental real estate in prospects' minds, they are Mc-screwed.