By Morris Moore
Burger King's sales rose more than 11% over the past year due to strong late night sales, promoted via a popular advertising campaign featuring Hip-Hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs.
Combs, who recently placed at # 3 on Forbes' list of top earning Hip-Hop artists by earning $28 million in 2006, was featured in a popular ad campaign promoting Burger King's new late night hours.
A multi-year deal between Combs and Burger King was announced in October of 2006.
The company also sponsored Diddy's cross-country tour promoting his album Press Play.
According to the Associated Press, the campaign helped Burger King, a franchise of more than 11,200 restaurants, earn a total of $590 million, up from $533 million the previous year.
The results of the campaign with Combs, as well as successful campaigns with the Transformers, Simpsons and SpongeBob SquarePants, pleased hungry shareholders of the company, which completed its first year as a publicly traded company.
In related news, Combs will be featured in Macy's new $100 million television ad campaign, which also features Donald Trump, Marc Ecko, Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons, Tommy Hilfiger, Kenneth Cole, Jessica Simpson, Martha Stewart and chef Emeril Lagasse.
A 90-second version of the commercial will debut during the Emmy Awards on September 16, the same night Combs' A Raisin in the Sun television movie airs.
Macy's reported a 77% drop in second quarter profits, as it struggles to integrate stores purchased in the $11 billion acquisition of May Department Stores in 2005.