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New Burger King ad criticized as "culturally tone-deaf"
Advertising is all about generating buzz, and those ad whizzes at Burger King sure do have a knack for that. (See, for example, Burger King's big-headed, stalker-ish "King" character for a prime example.)
Now their newest ad campaign, called "Whopper Virgins," is drawing fire from a number of organizations as being exploitative and culturally insensitive. The new ads show people from some of the most remote parts of the globe-- the Hmong tribe in Thailand, farmers from Transylvania in Romania, and the Inuit in Greenland-- sampling Burger King's Whopper and a Big Mac from McDonald's for the first time, while a voiceover hails the experiment as "the world's purest taste test." The Whopper was apparently chosen "more often than not" over the Big Mac, according to the company. (In other words, "slightly more than half the time.")
Burger King's goal with the ad was to "see how the Whopper would perform in a world that didn't have ad or marketing awareness or any sentimental attachments," says Russ Klein, a Burger King exec.
But many others see the ad in a more sinister light. The blog Stereohyped criticized the ad in a post under the headline "Burger King Storms Innocent Villages to Plunder 'Virgins,'" while Adweek's Barbara Lippert called it "culturally tone-deaf."
"What might irk people is the concept that Burger King is taking its fat-laden fast food to people who aren't used to this stuff in their diets, who aren't usually subject to our crass commercials, and who probably don't really care too much," a blogger a WalletPop wrote.
Personally, I have a hard time getting worked up over the ad. Seeing a Hmong tribesman munch on a Whopper is a pretty stomach-turning juxtaposition, I'll admit, but it isn't like this ad campaign is going to cause American fast food chains to suddenly flock to remote Thai villages. And Burger King, realizing the ad might be portrayed as controversial, seemingly took great pains to be gracious guests, as they donated school supplies, toys, and money to each of the places they visited.
So let's everyone calm down about the ad. It's a commercial, people.
Filed under: Arts and Culture, Thailand, Romania
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
FlurishingBilly Dec 22nd 2008 10:49AM
I feel for these indiginous people. Surely they must suffer great gastrointestinal distress after eating highly processed fast food, whether it be McDonalds or Burger King.
teenagertc Dec 22nd 2008 12:43PM
'twas a funny ad! I enjoyed it, and kudos to BK for donating to the places they went to!
seng Dec 22nd 2008 5:37PM
No, Mr. Hotfelder, it's more than just a commercial, especially if the U.S. and fast food world now believes that Hmong people are no more than the stereotype which the ad promotes...Hmong are nothing more than primitive "tribesmen" which you yourself seem content on perpetuating. The fact is that the very Hmong people in that commerical drives Toyota Tundras, and probably have cell phones, and indeed have seen and tasted the burgers which were readily available at the BK restaurant in downtown Chiang Mai, Thailand. Oh, there's also a McDonalds there too. Like BK, you might be surprised to know that some Hmong are professors at major American universities, web programmers for Google, aerospace ingineers for NASA, even a World Poker Tour champion, or a Super Delegate for President Elect Obama. Don't forget, thousands of Hmong Americans are BK employees in the U.S. A slight slap in their faces? It's not just a commericial, it's the kind of stereotype that literally feeds off the ignorance and bigotry of some narrow minded, and junk food eating Americans. And it's got a really bad after taste.
Davin Ellicson Dec 30th 2008 8:34AM
I am an American documentary photographer based in Bucharest, Romania right now and have been working on a book project about Europe's most traditional life which exists in northern Romania where part of the ad was shot. I am shocked. Just shameful. The villagers' whole lives revolve around organic farming and their traditions. There are few true chances for genuine adventure left in the world and it seems America just won't stop spread its vapid culture and industrialized food even to the far corners of the earth.
culture_whiz Dec 30th 2008 11:01AM
The newest commercial shows no respect for Romania and its culture, and also shows that whomever did it did not bother to do ANY research whatsoever.
They talk about a transilvanian, but on the screen it says "Bucharest, Romania"- well, Bucharest is not in Transilvania, and there are no farmers in Bucharest. More so, the popular clothes don't even reflect the romanian culture. So, while they're trying to show "Whopper Virgins" they prove themselves to be as brain virgins as they come.