I've heard the story about how the A&W' 1/3 lb burger at the same price as McDonald's Quarter Pounder failed because America is bad at fractions, but I do not believe that's the whole story.
Incredibly important factors:
1. A&W burgers sucked.
2. McDonalds was already an advertising juggernaut by that point. No kids have ever begged their parents to go to A&W to get a burger, which means the parents don't need to buy a bigger burger.
Jesus god! You make it sound as if the toxic, vaguely beef flavoured cardboard sold by McDs is edible!
If A&W burgers were worst than that utter crap, I'm surprised that anyone went there!
At the time I made the comparison I was probably 6 years old, and getting to go to McDonald's was a rarity, so it was like a special treat.
I love a really expensive burger, but I also love a shitty flat burger from McDonalds. I don't think they can be compared because they're different things.
It seems to me that it is a real shame the kids are being raised to actually crave food that is appallingly bad for them. McDonald's along with most 'fast food', may please kids palates but it is a major factor in the obesity epidemic that afflicts the USA and to a lesser extent, the UK. Notice that in countries like France where sane, healthy eating is still a thing, the rate of obesity is orders of magnitude lower than in the USA where people habitually stuff their faces with shite!
@Paulos_the_fog in my time, this was because a massive amount of the advertisements during cartoons were fun Ronald McDonald commercials. At some point in the last 20 years it became illegal to do that, and subsequently, there are very few cartoons on TV anymore