Burger King CEO John W. Chidsey, background center, watches as “The King” – the mascot of Burger King Corp. – arrives at the New York Stock Exchange in New York in 2006.

PORTLAND – The King is dead, but the burger lives on.

Burger King Corp. on Friday said it is retiring “The King” mascot, a man with an oversized plastic head and creepy smile who in recent years has been shown in ads peeping into people’s windows and popping up next to them in bed.

The move is an effort by the struggling fast food chain to boost slumping sales by focusing its marketing on the freshness of its food rather than the funny-factor of its ads. Read more.

The King always creeped me out. But then again so does Ronald McDonald and Jack from Jack-in-the-Box.

What's your favorite fast food place? (And don't act like you NEVER eat fast food!)

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