BK $1 Holidays, for when you care that little
As a person who loved getting those $5 McDonald's coupon booklets from my more estranged relatives every year, Burger King's latest dollar-menu promotion is right up my fast-food-giving alley. At BKDollarHolidays.com, you can pay $1 to send a card with an actual, genuine U.S. dollar inside to the people you care the least about. (That's not just me saying that. The site says the card "lets them know you almost care.") There's even a commercial with a creepy guy in a turtleneck (posted below). It's quite a deal, considering a card itself usually costs more than a buck. I'd send them to all my friends, if they didn't come with a dose of BK attitude. It's hard to find someone who wouldn't be upset to get the "Happy holidays, what's-yer-face" card. Fortunately for BK, every acquaintance of mine who seemed appropriate for this fits squarely within the young, male target demographic. In fact, I just sent a card to both of my bosses! Here's hoping I'm still employed by at least one of them in 2010. —Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on December 9, 2009 | Permalink
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BK unveils septa-patty Windows 7 Whopper
Burger King in Japan is so thrilled about Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system that it's cooked up a giant seven-patty Whopper in honor of it. According to Engadget, it will be available for seven days only, and the first 30 customers can buy it for 777 yen (that's about $8.50). For latecomers, it will cost 1,450 yen (about $17). It's not clear whether the sandwich will make it to the U.S., where rogue BK employees now seem lame for making four-patty "Quoppers" for their friends. |
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Published on October 22, 2009 | Permalink
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No lie, Tony Stewart does love the Whopper
Today, Crispin Porter + Bogusky rolled out a 50-minute Web show for Burger King at TheTruthAboutTony.com. The brand promoted the show heavily during sports games over the past few weekends, saying it would prove once and for all that Nascar driver and BK endorser Tony Stewart really does love the Whopper. The setup mimicked the old TV show Lie Detector, with Stewart hooked up to a machine and asked questions. The site had a Digg-like system to collect questions from fans, who could vote them up or down. Stewart was deemed to be telling the truth when asked whether he's done a doughnut on public property (yes), whether he likes musical theater (no) and whether he's read a book in the last two years (nope). He was caught lying when he said he's never gone commando under the fire suit, cried after a movie of the week, had a special blanket or toy as a kid or checked out hot chicks during races. Burger King showed admirable restraint not making it all about burgers. There was a BK bag on the set and a logo on Stewart's shirt. Of the 30-odd questions, five came from the brand. The entire program led up to asking Stewart whether he really loves the Whopper. He does! All in all, it was pretty entertaining, even for someone who has never watched a Nascar race in his life, though it probably lasted a bit too long and at times seemed contrived. No doubt there's a novelty factor at play here with the live Web video, so I'd guess we'll see more. If you missed it, BK is replaying it tonight at 9 p.m. ET. —Posted by Brian Morrissey
Previously on AdFreak:
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Published on October 20, 2009 | Permalink
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Practically anyone can endorse Burger King
Burger King's new campaign from Crispin Porter + Bogusky is a goofy bit of meta marketing in which celebrity endorser Tony Stewart, the Nascar driver, explores the nature and reliability of celebrity endorsements. In the spot above, he gives Carrot Top and Erik Estrada tips at the Tony Stewart School of Endorsements. You come away from it mostly wondering what the hell happened to Carrot Top. It looks like he's been flavoring his coffee with the same poison that ravaged that Ukrainian guy. The spot below suggests that Stewart decided to endorse the Whopper rather than a contraption called the Sockmaster 2000. Both ads imply, somewhat comically, that Stewart himself—adviser to D-listers, would-be sock steamer—is pretty lame as celebrity endorsers go. Still, it should be fun on Oct. 20, when Stewart will submit to a live polygraph, broadcast online, that will determine once and for all whether he does actually like the Whopper. |
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Published on September 10, 2009 | Permalink
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Men with small parts always welcome at BK
The guy with the tiny hands is back in a couple of new Burger King ads from Crispin Porter + Bogusky. He first appeared in this 2007 spot, where he was reluctant to eat a BK double cheeseburger because it made his already-small appendages look even smaller (and was taken aback by his friend's offer to "hold it for you"). In the new ads, it's the Whopper Jr. that fuels his feelings of embarrassment and inadequacy. His bitter father (above) and his friends (below) try to convince him that Burger King is the place to go even for those who have tiny parts. See also: |
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Published on August 31, 2009 | Permalink
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After ad beef, BK apologizes yet again
—Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on July 10, 2009 | Permalink
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BK kitchen becomes a giant killing machine
Robots and obits are two of my regular beats hear at AdFreak. They go hand in hand, as robots are dedicated to the destruction of mankind. Which brings us none too smoothly to Burger King's tie-in with Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. My colleague Rebecca Cullers has noted the "conspiracy" aspects of the campaign and warned us of "a series of worldwide robot sightings." Oh, it's far worse than that, people. As our flesh-and-blood world reels from the loss of the King of Pop, the metallic monsters have found their king: the Burger King! He's been robotized to massive proportions—transformed, if you will, into a digitized death-dealing demon! Someone would probably die if a giant King smashed through a BK like he does in the spot above. There’s be chaos and confusion, at any rate. And then my chance of getting no pickles, already abysmally low, would decline even more. Robots. They'll spoil your meal every time. —Posted by David Gianatasio |
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Published on June 26, 2009 | Permalink
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Spot any suggestive imagery in this BK ad?
Also not the subtlest ad ever made: this Burger King poster now making the rounds online, for something called the Super Seven Incher. Copy: "Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled." It's from Singapore. It's not from Crispin Porter. And it's not competing for a Lion at Cannes. Source: Flickr's joezandstra, via @michaelGregoire. |
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Published on June 24, 2009 | Permalink
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The King gets less gentle with dudes in bed
So, Burger King, possibly as a response to people calling their mascot creepy, now have him ambushing strangers in their beds in the middle of the night, as ominous horror-movie music plays. Look, we understand BK is open late now, but air-horning us back into consciousness is a dick move. What if we'd gotten a Whopper earlier that afternoon or something? The King has certainly turned into a real tosser since those days when he lovingly served us breakfast in bed. BK ads have established a pattern lately wherein the consumer is inconvenienced or assaulted by something representing the product, and aside from a cheap laugh or two, we're not sure what they've gotten from it. Perhaps it will all eventually culminate in Ashton Kutcher getting kicked in the balls by a giant BK Stacker. That would redeem all of their efforts up to now. |
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Published on May 29, 2009 | Permalink
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Burger Kingons torment bachelors of EarthA partnership between Burger King and Star Trek seems valid, seeing as how their audiences probably overlap about 90 percent. Apparently, the love child of this unholy union is the Kingon, a new race of plastic-faced freaks who raid bachelor pads for collectible glasses and disinterested girlfriends. You can get a sneak peek of the Crispin Porter + Bogusky commercial (and a pre-roll ad) above, via The Wall Street Journal, which reports that BK will be a marketing partner to three summer blockbusters: Star Trek, Transformers 2 and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Can't wait for BK's G.I. Joe ads, which will surely have killer taglines like "Now you know, and knowing is half the Whopper," or simply, "Eat like Cobraaaaa!" —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on May 5, 2009 | Permalink
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U.S.-Mexico relations strained over BK spot
This European ad from Crispin Porter + Bogusky for Burger King's Texican Whopper is honestly pretty harmless, but it has Mexico up in arms about its people being portrayed as tiny luchadors who wear their flag like a cape. It's the first cross-border advertising dispute since that infamous Absolut ad from Mexico City. We've seen worse stereotyping of Mexicans, though. And Consumerist is right to ask what kind of cowboy can't open his own jars. But it's worth pointing out that chaps are buttless by design, so that's not insulting, either. At least he wore them over pants. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on April 15, 2009 | Permalink
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Happy 5th birthday to Subservient Chicken
Time flies on the Web. Five years ago today, Burger King's Subservient Chicken first graced us with his presence. Not only was the chicken a seminal moment for interactive creativity, it also marked the beginning of the ongoing slugfest between ad agencies and digital shops for credit. You might recall the story: Crispin Porter + Bogusky dreamed up Subservient Chicken but the Barbarian Group actually made it—and played a big role in coming up with the idea. Many spats followed over where credit should lie. It was the same story for many digital projects that followed, whether it's HBO's "Voyeur" or OfficeMax's "Elf Yourself." Rick Webb, a founder of the Barbarian Group, commemorates the S.C. anniversary with an exhaustive blog post (13 footnotes!) recounting how the chicken was born. It's a messy tale, without a sketch on a napkin. "If you ask me, the mystery is more about why everyone wishes it was a single person in an ah-ha moment," he writes. "We get that a lot still. People want it to be dramatic. As if doing things methodically until you get a great idea is disappointing. As if coming up with a good idea should be easy." —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on April 7, 2009 | Permalink
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Burger King sexes up square butts for kids
Seriously, guys, I have no idea what's going on here. The Burger King is measuring women's butts while Sir Mix-a-Lot raps about wanting to "get with" SpongeBob SquarePants. That much I get. That's just Crispin being Crispin. But this is an ad for kids' meals? I'm usually not one to side with the parental-outcry types, yet it's hard to get past the inherent creepiness pouring forth from this unholy union. UPDATE: Below is the full-length music video, wherein parental-outcry types can gain more ammunition. UPDATE 2: Like clockwork, the Campaign for Commercial-Free Childhood weighs in: "It's bad enough when companies use a beloved media character like SpongeBob to promote junk food to children, but it's utterly reprehensible when that character simultaneously promotes objectified, sexualized images of women." Our sister blog BrandFreak has more. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on April 7, 2009 | Permalink
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Facebook douses BK's 'Whopper Sacrifice'
Sounds like human sacrifice is back off the menu — for now, at least. Burger King’s tremendously successful Whopper Sacrifice application on Facebook was suspended today by the social network. “Facebook has disabled Whopper Sacrifice after your love of The Whopper sandwich proved to be stronger than 232,654 friendships,” says a note currently on the front page of WhopperSacrifice.com. Facebook has responded by saying the application is merely being tweaked for privacy reasons. Officials at the social network didn't like that it alerted people who had been "un-friended" as part of the application. "We encourage creativity from developers and brands using Facebook Platform," a spokesperson told the Inside Facebook blog. "But we also must ensure that applications follow users’ expectations of privacy." Hat tip to Dan Shust on Twitter for the tip. —Posted by David Griner |
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Published on January 14, 2009 | Permalink
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BK releases a fragrance with a 'hint of meat'
Hello, Burger King? I tried "Flame," your new men's body spray with a "hint of flame-broiled meat," for the first time today. Frankly, I was skeptical. But you guys have done it again. I really do smell like a greasy Whopper Deluxe! (Hey, it beats that Diddy fragrance by a mile!) There's even an undertone of ketchup, but that might be from my actual lunch. (I'm a sloppy eater.) Here's the problem, though: I'm trapped in a phone booth on the corner of Main Street and Elm. There's this pack of stray dogs, and they look awfully hungry. I guess your cologne really works. Send help quick! |
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Published on December 16, 2008 | Permalink
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'Whopper virgins' make inauspicious debut
Crispin Porter + Bogusky's much-anticipated "documentary" about the "Whopper virgins" debuted last night. It was pretty much as expected. Stacy Peralta has really made two commercials—let's face it, they're just commercials. One is the taste test. This has the native people brought to a semi-civilized location—i.e., somewhere within 15 minutes of fast-food restaurants—for your run-of-the-mill taste test. The video flashes up some select results. I say select because I hope the sample size was larger than about 20. (Surprisingly, the Whopper won in a landside.) Part two is what probably gets at the root of the criticism leveled at Burger King for the project. Peralta and crew trek out to these far-flung locales with a BK grill to cook for the locals. In my initial appraisal of the concept, I found it icky. I still find it depressing. This is a documentary about the making of a commercial that uses "exotic" foreigners as props to sell more trans-fat-laden heart-attack pucks. Judging from what I've read on blogs, Facebook and Twitter, the reaction is pretty mixed—probably exactly what Crispin and BK wanted. See Adweek critic Barbara Lippert's review here. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 8, 2008 | Permalink
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Crispin brings BK food to the unenlightened
Nothing speaks to modernity—nay, civilization—quite like the dollar menu. Crispin Porter + Bogusky is kicking off a new Burger King campaign that seeks out "Whopper virgins," those poor souls who haven't yet sunk their teeth into mass-produced meat. Crispin is returning to its familiar reality-TV conceit to capture reactions of those tasting a Whopper for the first time. (Go back to the well much, Crispin?) Naturally, it's hard to find many Americans who fit the bill. So, like any good colonialist, Crispin is traveling the world to enlighten the savages about the wonders of fast food. The site promises jaunts through rural Romania and the tundra of Greenland. Bonus: the subjects will dress in their native garments. Griner makes a practical objection: how does Crispin plan on getting fresh burgers to these remote places? The Inquisitr finds the whole thing deeply offensive. I'd say it's more embarrassing and emblematic of how ignorant Americans still seem to the rest of the world. —Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on December 1, 2008 | Permalink
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Burger King will destroy the ice-cream man
If we didn't know better, we'd swear Burger King was happy about putting ice-cream men out of business. Given the gloomy economic forecast, one would think they'd be more sympathetic to the plight of the small businessman. But then again, this is the company that gave us the Whaler. Clearly, they could give a shit about the rest of us. Thankfully, there's an ice-cream truck working my block about 300 times a day, so the market hasn't bottomed out as much as Burger King would have you think. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on September 25, 2008 | Permalink
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Seth MacFarlane's hot and juicy pre-roll ads
—Posted by Brian Morrissey |
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Published on September 10, 2008 | Permalink
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BK eaters engage in rampant 'polygameat'
—Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on September 9, 2008 | Permalink
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A good day for man-children everywhere
—Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on August 20, 2008 | Permalink
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Cows desperate to become BK hamburgers
Speaking of Burger King, this new BK ad falls flat by failing to address why a cow would be mad at someone for not killing and eating it. That's the kind of relationship I'd want broken if I were the cow. But then, what this guy does with livestock in his private life is none of our business. Of greater concern is whether or not a chicken sandwich that provokes such a violent response in cattle is worth the effort—i.e., hiding out in one's car in a deserted parking lot. Gotta say, Burger King's portrayal of its own food could be a lot more appetizing. —Posted by David Kiefaber |
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Published on August 20, 2008 | Permalink
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BK's 'Dark Knight' ad looks awfully familiar
Burger King's ads are as recycled as its food. This is according to the observant bloggers at Den of Geek, who noticed that BK’s new spot for the Dark Whopper, a sandwich “inspired by The Dark Knight,” is awfully similar to a previous ad for a previous Dark Whopper, back when it was “inspired by Spider-Man 3.” Oh well. Their taste in summer movies has improved—that’s worth something, right? And at least they didn’t bring back “Where’s Herb?” |
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Published on July 29, 2008 | Permalink
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BK's European cartoons continue to violate
—Posted by Rebecca Cullers |
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Published on June 5, 2008 | Permalink
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Burger King's future looks a lot like his past
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Published on April 7, 2008 | Permalink
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