#proudwhopper

[isiltanyeri]

Proud Whopper - we’re all the same inside. 

[tumblnita]

proud whopper

i realize that some in the gay/trans/bi world may feel that burger king is pandering to the gay population and those who love them. but burger king is also spending marketing money and taking a calculated risk that their effort will result in not only sales (it's marketing, duh) but letting people know that burger king corporate considers the gay population a valuable market and is willing to go out and get them. not like saying their money isn't good enough, which certainly has been done to those who face any kind of discrimination. as stevie wonder once sang, "you might have the cash but you cannot cash in your face, we don't want your kind..." they recognize the value. but they also are not afraid of being called "gay-lover"... which really ought to mean something. i applaud burger king. and i will continue to yell kudos to companies who do such things until it's no longer necessary. side benefit, the westboro baptist church is having an apoplexy over it. that itself is well worth the price of admission.

[askajanything-blog]

The Proud Whopper commercial- My favorite part is the girl going "it's the same shit. It's the same shit!" -- my least favorite part is the entire commercial. I'm tired of corporations trying to profit off the gay (umbrella term, please don't get on me) community. Having a "Proud Whopper" makes me not want to eat more at Burger King than I already don't. I think it's kind of stupid, as far as marking goes: it's a burger...which you can have "your way". So essentially it's NOT always the "same on the inside". They missed their demographic with this one. BK needs to wrap the burger in some cute cat wrapper, instead of paper crowns offer snap-backs and change the Burger King to a Burger Drag Queen, oh, and offer a vegan option (we all know 99.99999% of lesbians are vegan'ish) and BOOM, you might get my $2.59 for the novelty. But, nah.

[thedevilsadvocate]

The Proud Burger by Burger King

Too many corporations shy away from taking sides on major social issues. It was said that Johnny Carson would never let his political opinions be known as to never "risk alienating half of my audience." It seems that same rationale has been adopted by the majority of companies. I may be even alienating my audience by writing about this topic. And, to be honest, it's probably the safe bet to leave it alone.

Then there are the smart ones. The ones that take a calculated risk on a hot button topic of the day, take a side and shoot for the moon. Burger King has addressed the topic of equal rights for the LGBT community in a brilliant way. We'll address what's right about this campaign.

Where's The Beef?

So what's right about this campaign? What makes a simple hamburger and its wrapper impactful? Why would Burger King risk its audience and its sales to take a stand and do the right thing? The Devil's Advocate has identified 3 characteristics that make this campaign stand out: it is slightly controversial, it's not necessarily about the product, and it evokes emotion.

Controversy

There's no way around it - gay rights is controversial. Ever since President Obama came out in his support of gay marriage, the dominoes have started to fall. Some blame it on religion, others blame it on "disease," while I just blame it on the goose (kidding!). There's no denying the LGBT movement is the Civil RIghts movement of the time. And, as with any movement in history, people are generally resistant to change. Change takes time.

Enter the controversy. Major movement tugging people in different directions based on their values? Controversy. Any quote by any figure of any importance relating to it skyrockets to the front page of the newspaper top of Buzzfeed. So, when a major fast food chain makes an entire campaign wrapped (get it!?) around re-branding (Proud Whopper name) and re-packaging (rainbow colored burger wrap) their flagship burger, it goes viral.

Making A Statement

In retrospect, this might have been the most difficult thing to decipher about this campaign. The more I watched it, the more I realized that this isn't about the whopper. As you come to find out as the moral of the story, the whopper is exactly the same. When's the last time you saw something advertised to you with the tagline, "We Didn't Change S---!"? Oh, right. Well, besides that, that's the point of the whole thing. The whopper is exactly the same.

This is where I stopped and said, "wow, that is actually genius." In the video, you see people trying to figure out what has changed about the whopper. To be fair, that makes sense. New product? What's new about this? They then take a look at the wrapper and see the rainbow colored message, "We Are All The Same Inside." Beautiful. What a way to make a statement. What a beautiful metaphor.

More than the whopper though, the company and its brand have taken a stand on a serious issue. And, in the view of the majority in this country, they have taken the right stand. A stand for equal rights in a time when the country is demanding it. So, while the Proud Whopper and its rainbow colored wrapping are only available for a limited time, the lasting impression of how Burger King tackled this issue will remain in the consumers minds long after, for better or for worse.

Emotion

The final ingredient. The ingredient every advertiser looks for and every consumer wants you to touch. A memory of my childhood. The one that got away. The good times from way back when. It's no secret that if you pull on their heart strings, they'll be sucked right in.

This campaign handles the emotional aspect beautifully with only six words - We Are All The Same Inside. When's the last time somebody cried while eating a burger at McDonald's or Wendy's? Rightfully so, too. Burger King has a chance to do something right in the world, and they did. Their message that sexuality has little to nothing to do with how we treat one another reaches far beyond the tables of their restaurants. It's a theme that, if followed, would make the world a better place. People helping people. Everybody treating each other with respect. A simple message that makes your heart smile.

[imagine8that-blog-blog]

Burger King Proud Whopper

[giosworld]