Posts Tagged ‘Whopper Virgins’

Responsible or not? Burger King’s Whopper Virgins

Monday, December 8th, 2008

The idea is simple, really.

Since everyone in America has heard of or tried a Whopper and the Big Mac, conduct taste tests in locations that have never even heard of Burger King or McDonald’s signature products.

And that’s what Burger King did—took their taste tests to remote locations in Romania, Greenland and Thailand.

Here’s a short film documenting their project, released yesterday, December 7th at WhopperVirgins.com:

While more subdued than some of Burger King’s recent advertising, the Whopper Virgins campaign has been called exploitive and offensive.

Criticisms include:

  • Taste tests were conducted in impoverished areas
  • Cultural insensitivity; use of cultural stereotypes
  • The use of the word “Virgin” in a mainstream ad campaign

    • Most feedback has come in response to the :30 documentary teasers (1, 2).

    But after watching the actual documentary, do you believe Burger King’s Whopper Virgins campaign is responsible marketing or not?

    Comment below to share your opinion.

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    . . .

    Hat tip to Jason Keath for sharing this campaign with me on Twitter.

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    Posted in responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos | 19 Comments »