Hasta La Creative!

In this controversial Burger King ad from Russia, a Whopper crushes a flower as a voiceover informs us: "This is a poppy. It was popular once, but now its time has passed." That's a rather strained drug reference, as a BK official in Russia explains that the poppy, used to make opium, symbolizes a "bad habit" that BK would happily help you replace with a Whopper addiction instead. (C'mon, people, it's obvious!) It's also apparently a play on words, as "mak" is both Russian for "poppy" and a slang term for McDonald's, whose time has also ostensibly run out. Major Russian media outlets won't run the commercial because it seems to position BK as an alternative to opiates. Have it your way, Russia! Of course, as these recent Big Mac ads illustrate, if you don't think McDonald's offers the ultimate psychedelic burger experience, you be trippin'.

Advertising Agency: Tonic Communications, Dubai
Creative Directors: Vincent Raffray, Khaled Gadallah
Post: Chimney Pot, Dubai
Art Director: Peter Walker
Copywriter: Vincent Raffray
Production House: Zoe, Beruit
Director: Chadi Younes
Via [AdsOfTheWorld]

Today somebody asked me why I love social media. There are so many reasons and it’s hard for me to choose only a few. So I did what any other social media savvy individual would do: I posted the question on Facebook, Twitter and other outlets. I was able to use social media to explain why I love social media and I think fellow blogger Jenna McWilliams says it best: “Social media is not a trend, but a fundamental human urge to communicate,” and now we have more ways to do so. So, my top five reasons:

1. 1-800 customer care number? Consider it a thing of the past. Remember the time when we had 1-800 numbers? We’d wait on hold for eternity to finally get connected to someone in another country who was so far from executives that we were sure our complaints or problems would never be heard. Social media has changed that. Now companies have to listen to their customers because unhappy ones can broadcast their displeasure through social media. Also, it’s no longer a one-way conversation. Some companies have jumped onto the social media bandwagon (as they should) and created accounts to ask consumers to help create and improve their brands.  Two most notable examples are Starbucks’ My Starbucks Idea and Burger King’s Whopper Sacrifice.

2. Efficiency of reaching consumers. Look at social media this way – imagine all of your customers coming together on a daily basis and talking about topics that pertain to you and your company, thereby spreading even more information about your company and gaining more recognition and consumers. One of my favorite quotes comes from my mentor and good friend, Griffin Farley of 22squared: “Don’t plan for the ones you reach, plan for the ones they reach.”

3. Being connected (this was the most popular answer I received after posting the question). When something happens to ourselves or to someone we know, we share it with others through pictures, comments and tweets.  More importantly, it’s a new way to get news, support, and advice on anything.What better way to educate yourself on advertising and marketing than by following an expert in a specific field? Who knows, it could even get you a job (Tweeter Neal Schafer had it happen to him after he started his blog and web site).

4. Creative campaigns. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – if I had a TiVo, all I would record are commercials. I like advertising, but not because I want to learn about the products. I like the  creativity used to showcase a product to consumers. And now with social media, they’re becoming even more creative. Viral videos, Twitter giveaways, Facebook fan pages, etc. I can’t get enough of them. Old school + new school = awesome, consumer-activity-inducing campaigns.

5. The best thing about social media? It is changing the way we think. And with the exponential growth of it, no social media professional can be sure of where these new media will lead. But I can tell you that it’s exciting to see the evolution.

Megan Green is a freelance propagation planner who has had her work published on PR News Wire, as well as many other outlets. Contact her on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or at megankategreen@gmail.com.

Another faux pas from the now controversial brand, Burger King. This time, instead of offending an entire country, it went after an entire religion. Burger King’s latest ad release includes the Hindu Goddess Lakshmi sitting in front of the new “Texican Whopper.” The tagline is ‘La merienda es sagrada’ – the snack is sacred.

It seems as though Burger King has taken the “even-negative-press-is-still-press” approach to its advertising strategy because, as Ad Age eloquently explained, “…It’s easy to assume that it was planned: Particularly “edgy” work is sent abroad with the expectation that it will soon reverberate on American soil, accompanied by lots and lots of news coverage.”

Ad Age goes on to discuss ad agency involvement and the debate of who did what and who’s affiliated with which campaign, but quite frankly, I think that all are responsible. Whether or not Crispin was involved overseas or another small agency was contracted by the franchise, the point is that the entire brand suffers. Truly. It’s clear that Burger King has lost control of its brand to a point that it’s now globally hurting consumer loyalty. That, or Burger King has the absolute worst brand positioning plan.

The ads were created in an attempt to increase sales. As CNNMoney reported, an increase in sales does not mean an increase in profit. So, what logic is there in creating campaigns that will discourage buyers faith in the brand by offending them? The fact of the matter is that as a straggling brand attempting to follow in the shadows of the golden arches, you DON’T TOUCH RELIGION. Anyone heard from Mel Gibson lately? You’re not just offending that religion, you’re offending anyone who believes in religious respect.

What should we expect in the next ad, Burger King, swastika fries?

Rena Prizant is a Copywriter, Ad Creative and mammal in the Chicago area. Visit www.RenaPrizant.com or @WriteLeft.

Você já viu aqui o vídeo-case do famoso “Whopper Sacrifice”, certo? Mas ele não é a única aposta da Crispin Porter + Bogusky nos festivais de publicidade mundo afora.

O controverso “Whopper Virgins” também é um case favorito, o que não se sabe é se a idéia vai ser capaz de conquistar unanimidade no júri, ou mesmo transpor barreiras de quem considera a ação ofensiva e não-ética.

No próprio video-case, que você vai poder assistir abaixo, a agência destaca as opiniões divididas de consumidores e da mídia diante da idéia de levar hamburguer para alguns dos lugares mais ermos do planeta.

Whopper Virgins | Video-Case

Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
Twitter | Contato | Anuncie

Mexico, offended by this Burger King Whopper spot (click on Read More), cites that the world community is given “a bad impression” of the country. The spot, which ran in Spain and Europe, has been pulled by Burger King Corporation, who obviously didn’t get it “Their Way.” Mexico believes the spot portrays Americans as superior to Mexicans, and took exception to, “The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican,”

The newspaper La Jornada ran a front-page story under the headline “Denigrating advertising,” and said the ads “show Mexicans as notably inferior to all Americans.”

But an editorial cartoon in another Mexican newspaper, Reforma, showed a short Mexican dressed in a wrestler’s mask holding a hamburger, with the caption “The only thing more insulting than deceptive ads are the ones that expose the truth.” Both professional wrestling and fast food are popular in Mexico.

Mexico, to no one’s surprise, has much to worry about these days. The Mexican government risks collapse at any moment, the country is flat broke, and her people are leaving in record numbers. Not to mention that there were 5612 murders in 2008 resutling from a violent drug war. The drugs in question are being shipped the United States, causing the Obama administration to pledge $700 Million to help Mexico fight the drug cartels.

So, it’s a good thing Mexico’s watching out for their REP; otherwise, we might get the wrong impression…

Jeff Louis is an professional Senior Media Planner, Project Manager, and New Business Coordinator. His passion is writing, contributing to BMA as well as freelancing. He’d love to hear from you: www.linkedin/in/jefflouis or on twitter @jlo0312.

We are bound to see a lot of kids troop to the nearest Burger King outlet and it will not be surprising if a large part of those kids are Nickelodeon fans. Why? Well for one thing, Burger King will be selecting 25 winners who will go to Los Angeles to watch the 22nd Annual Kids Choice Awards. The contest will be up to January 28 only.

“Burger King Corp. has partnered with Nickelodeon on its Kids’ Choice Awards for the past 10 years, but the number of prizes being awarded makes this sweepstakes like nothing we’ve ever done,” says Cindy Syracuse, senior director, cultural marketing, Burger King Corp. “With the hottest stars under one roof, Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards are a kid favorite, so we know parents will relish in the opportunity to win a once-in-a-lifetime trip for their family.”

(Source) QSR

O Burger King lançou no Facebook um aplicativo como nenhum outro, que basicamente provoca: você estaria disposto a “sacrificar” 10 dos seus amigos para ganhar um Whopper?

O Whopper Sacrifice funciona de maneira simples: através do aplicativo, basta selecionar 10 pessoas para deixar de ser amigo no Facebook e ser recompensado com um cupom de Whopper grátis.

O golpe de mestre está no fato de que a ferramenta torna-se incrivelmente viral, já que, ao contrário do que normalmente acontece, os “amigos” sacrificados por você recebem uma notificação avisando que foram dispensados só por causa de um hambúrguer grátis.

Um uso criativo e interessante de rede social, que reflete muito bem a atitude e sarcasmo que o Burger King vem trabalhando nos últimos anos. E considerando que sempre tem um monte de gente na sua lista de amigos que você mal conhece…