Return of the King, with a PG rating

After reintroducing the Burger King by showing him in a man’s bed, inspiring claims both of homoeroticism and homophobia (considering the awkwardness when the King put his hand on the guy’s knee), it seems Crispin Porter + Bogusky is trying to portray a bit more of a wholesome image of the King, while keeping his oddball edge. In two recent spots, he makes just as an abrupt appearance but keeps his distance and pets only the dog. In one ad, he turns up on a doorstep with a Western Omelet Croissan’wich on a platter; in another, he appears at a window with an Enormous Omelet Sandwich. Both ads seem to feature gratuitous shots of the men’s female mates somewhere in the background. In “Dog,” after spotting the King lurking in his yard, a man turns with a puzzled expression to his wife or girlfriend washing her face in a bathroom in the distance. When he turns back around, the King is smack in front of him in the doorway. In the other, “Curtain,” a woman passes by in the hallway in the far background while a guy yucks it up with the King. The plastic-headed character still has an unsettling quality about him, but both spots end with exaggerated happy-go-lucky play—in one, the King rolls around the floor as the dog licks his face; in the other, he’s got all sorts of animals (a bunny, a deer, a squirrel, birds) flocking to him in a Snow White-like scene of purity. Last time we saw the King, wasn’t he pushing a bombshell in a swing at the racy David LaChapelle-directed “Fantasy Ranch,” starring Darius Rucker? Can’t wait to see where he’ll turn up next.

—Posted by Eleftheria Parpis

April 18, 2005 in Burger King, Parpis | Permalink