Over at the Idea Sandbox blog, Paul Williams breaks down the perverted oddities in this Burger King promotional tray liner. Really, this is just odd. Look at the rubber glove-wearing Pickle and the pants-down Onion. Now read Paul's breakdown.
As a marketingologist with the Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice, I give companies “Second Opinions” about the business and marketing activities they are currently doing or considering doing.
Not that surprising. The current BK "King" mascot is creepy as well. Like the commerical where the guy wakes up and the king is in bed with this dude and has his hand on the guys knee while he serves him a BK breakfast.
Posted by: linkerjpatrick | July 07, 2008 at 08:34 PM
Doesn't BK use Crispin, Porter and Bogusky? I think CPB came up with the creepy King ads ...
Posted by: Jeff Crites | July 07, 2008 at 09:34 PM
These ads are the only things creepier than the creepy-molester Burger King. Ick.
What BK employee OK'd this?! Fire that person.
Posted by: Barchbo | July 07, 2008 at 10:16 PM
Personally I think it's really funny and impossible to ignore. Offensive? Probably, but them's the breaks. Compared to the bland/generic tray liners full of smiling idiots that pass for "brand imagery" at most chains, I'm at least impressed at BK for having some cajones in running something edgy.
I do agree it should be toned down. A lot. But risk-taking will in the long run get them more brand for their buck IMO. There's too much watered down overly-PC copy out there now.
(on a related note -- a tabletop ad from a local catering outfit advertises their watermelon as being carted in locally, saving on "carbon footprint." Imagine if the BK ad guys got hold of that one ... :))
Posted by: JMW | July 08, 2008 at 04:02 AM
The ads are by .smart, a Munich-based agency. My guess is "by" the European market "for" the European market.
I agree with JMWs comments that this is impossible to ignore and edgy... It is even funny... as I mention in my post... in a Mad Magazine kinda way.
But, entertainment/shock-factor aside... Is *this* Burger King? Is this what they want their brand to represent?
Examining this tactic causes me to think BK is targeting 21-45 year old males. The same guys who enjoy GoDaddy Super Bowl commercials, beer and hot wings at Hooters restaurants, and loved the Juggy Dance Squad on Comedy Central's old program "The Man Show."
However, if you visit the BK website they're promoting the teen-pop Jonus Brother's Tour (a boy band with 12 to 15-year-old girl fans) and Pokemon kid's meals?!
As a marketer I can't offer kudos to BK for simply being buzzy or ballsy... they should be executing this tactics for a strategic reason.
I have yet to uncover that reason.
Posted by: Paul (from Idea Sandbox) | July 08, 2008 at 04:34 AM
hilarious... and memorable. I'll eat 2.5 BK burgers per month instead of my usual 1.3...
sometimes you just have to enjoy the humor in things and not over-anal-lyze it.
Posted by: Pat Nerr | July 08, 2008 at 12:19 PM
Pat ... "Want some Happy?" Remember that from your Starbucks days?
To help promote the partnership between Starbucks and Kozmo (the long defunct online delivery convenience biz), we gave store partners t-shirts with the tagline of WANT SOME HAPPY? in big letters across their chest.
Totally unintentional mistake. It ain't cool for a company like Starbucks to expect ladies to wear a t-shirt with the words WANT SOME HAPPY written across their chest.
We couldn't enjoy the humor in it, we had to over analyze it and learn never to do that again.
I see some similarities between this perverted BK tray liner and the perverted SBUX t-shirt.
Posted by: john moore (from Brand Autopsy) | July 08, 2008 at 12:26 PM
HA! Yes, I remember the Kozmo promo... I still have a nice orange messenger bag from them.
I personally expect such things from BK... from Starbucks, I expect better... more hip than funny.
Kozmo is another example of a partnership that Starbucks made that wasn't in algnment with it's core business... coffee and connection. Kozmo was about convenience and extreme variety of stuff.
However... I do miss being able to order a Snickers, Starbucks coffee, Sushi and a movie at 1am...
Posted by: Pat Nerr | July 08, 2008 at 12:40 PM
Very, very odd. My kids want to go to BK now that they have Pokemon (Got to catch them all!). This seems to be more inline with the sophomoric humor of Carl's Jr/ Hardees.
Posted by: Bill Gammell | July 08, 2008 at 04:07 PM
The only thing creepier about BK than this art work, is the food itself. Branding becomes very important when you're peddling food that's barely edible. I guess the last thing anyone is thinking about given their marketing approach is the 'actual' food, and where it really comes from. Still, I'll bet these details rarely get noticed, but I'm glad you did. What a turnoff. As if mystery meat wasn't already enough.
Posted by: Blaine Fallis | July 09, 2008 at 06:54 PM
We need to recognize the meta message that we're sending about risk-taking here
http://www.jer979.com/igniting-the-revolution/the-price-of-failure/
looking forward to your thoughts, of course
Posted by: jeremy | July 11, 2008 at 12:59 PM
i would say that bk does a good job. last week i bought some
antique table lamps hehe and i purchsed some bk lamp covers for them..i thought it was pretty cute.
Posted by: antique furniture | September 05, 2008 at 12:48 AM