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Flame-Broiled in Controversy | Whopper Virgins
Burger King has recently been the centre of some controversial ad campaigns. There was the Whopper Freakout, the Whopper Sacrifice, their Flame cologne, and the Whopper Virgins taste test ad (read more about them, under the cut).
The Whopper Virgins ad featured a film crew that traveled all over the world to remote areas where they filmed people who had never tried a burger before to do a burger taste test. The Whopper was up against the Big Mac, and in the video, these "Whopper Virgins" -- dressed in traditional clothing -- chose the Whopper over the Big Mac. The ad had some people up in arms over its cultural insensitivity and exploitation of people foreign to the burger.
The ad is delivered in a light-hearted manner, with the "Whopper Virgins" enjoying hamburgers in "funny hats" and holding hamburgers in odd ways, but does it cross the line? Especially when millions are spent on an advertising campaign to travel to areas where many people cannot even afford to feed themselves or their families?
But hey, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? That may be, but such a large organization should be more responsible in its advertising efforts.
More: Whopper Virgins taste test ad | Watch Transylvania Farmers version of Whopper Virgins ad @ YouTube | Watch Thai villagers version of Whopper Virgins ad @ YouTube | 'Whopper Virgins' ads: just bad taste? @ UK Guardian |
Burger King's "Whopper Virgins" Advertisement Ignites Controversy @ Huffington Post
The latest was a partnership with Facebook where users could flame-broil their Facebook friends. The now-defunct application, called the Whopper Sacrifice, has since been pulled.
Apparently for the price of dropping only 10 Facebook friends, you got a coupon for a free Whopper burger. The banished buddies were then sent an e-mail that alerted them to the fact that they have been dumped for a free hamburger.
Burger King has been upping the ante with their ad campaigns lately. The holidays saw the launch of their meat-scented cologne, Flame. Guess there are plenty of folks out there who love their partner to smell like their meat since it was fairly popular and sold out in a few stores.
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January 29, 2009 at 1:53 AM
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