BK Veg City.
June 5, 2008 10:15 AM Subscribe
German advertising agency .start has created an ad campaign for Burger King Europe complete with various tray liners (1 2 3 4), an interactive website, and TV commercials.
I find the portrayal of a sailor in the red light district to be a tad too stereotypical for my taste. And since when are pickles better than onions?
posted by jsavimbi at 10:19 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by jsavimbi at 10:19 AM on June 5, 2008
I like them, except for the implication that something in my Royalle with Cheese has an anus. Wait.
posted by DU at 10:20 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by DU at 10:20 AM on June 5, 2008
Woah. Did they suddenly decide to stop selling burgers to kids or something?
posted by ArkhanJG at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by ArkhanJG at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008
I used to love BK as a guilty pleasure. Since they were purchased by Goldman Sachs, and do things like this, I avoid it like the plague.
posted by SaintCynr at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
posted by SaintCynr at 10:25 AM on June 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
Metafilter: Pickle in? Or pickle out?
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:26 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 10:26 AM on June 5, 2008
Soon to be overheard at a local BK:
"Mommy, when I grow up I want to assassinate onions!"
"That's nice dear, with their human rights violations, they certainly deserve it."
posted by quin at 10:37 AM on June 5, 2008
"Mommy, when I grow up I want to assassinate onions!"
"That's nice dear, with their human rights violations, they certainly deserve it."
posted by quin at 10:37 AM on June 5, 2008
The soon to be late Generalissimo Allium Cepa is clearly South American.
I never eat at BK because they won't make me a burger without onions. They scrape the damn things off of whatever crap is lying around.
posted by stavrogin at 10:41 AM on June 5, 2008
I never eat at BK because they won't make me a burger without onions. They scrape the damn things off of whatever crap is lying around.
posted by stavrogin at 10:41 AM on June 5, 2008
And since when are pickles better than onions?
I believe the implication is that the onion is not FRESH, because it has a beard and is thus OLD. Maybe? Mmmmm....bearded onion.
posted by spicynuts at 10:43 AM on June 5, 2008
I believe the implication is that the onion is not FRESH, because it has a beard and is thus OLD. Maybe? Mmmmm....bearded onion.
posted by spicynuts at 10:43 AM on June 5, 2008
Ok, I'm wrong, obviously since the onions play the evil role in all three. Duh.
Still......bearded onion!!
posted by spicynuts at 10:44 AM on June 5, 2008
Still......bearded onion!!
posted by spicynuts at 10:44 AM on June 5, 2008
Wheres the meat?
oh shit. I switched two of the letters when I was choosing where to post this.
posted by gman at 11:13 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
oh shit. I switched two of the letters when I was choosing where to post this.
posted by gman at 11:13 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Can I get a Pepsi Blue with my bread and murder sandwich?
posted by baphomet at 11:31 AM on June 5, 2008
posted by baphomet at 11:31 AM on June 5, 2008
These are in terrible taste. Assassination, stabbing and over-zealous cavity searches are not things to be taken lightly.
No way would this pass muster in the UK. Here in London kids keep getting stabbed to death. A few days ago it was a 15 year old girl in the elevator of her building. The following night the BBC were reporting from the McDonald's around the corner from my house - that is where she was first attacked by the guy who ended up killing her.
posted by Flashman at 11:35 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
No way would this pass muster in the UK. Here in London kids keep getting stabbed to death. A few days ago it was a 15 year old girl in the elevator of her building. The following night the BBC were reporting from the McDonald's around the corner from my house - that is where she was first attacked by the guy who ended up killing her.
posted by Flashman at 11:35 AM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
I see, they're targeting the paint sniffing cross-dresser segment of the market. Good luck with that.
posted by disgruntled at 12:05 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by disgruntled at 12:05 PM on June 5, 2008
SaintCynr, BK finally agreed to the tomato picker wage increase.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:27 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 12:27 PM on June 5, 2008
Holy cow, an interactive website? 90% populated with "COMING SOON" rollovers? I think that's fantastic!
posted by Mister_A at 12:28 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by Mister_A at 12:28 PM on June 5, 2008
"COMING SOON" means something totally different in German.
posted by gman at 12:37 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by gman at 12:37 PM on June 5, 2008
I saw a description of the ads in an askme earlier this week; the words did not do justice to the images. Who knew veggies wore madonna-bullet-bras?!?
posted by nomisxid at 1:30 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by nomisxid at 1:30 PM on June 5, 2008
You know someone's going to get in a hissy fit over the exposed boob on that chili - oh wait, this is for Germany, never mind.
posted by bertrandom at 1:48 PM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
posted by bertrandom at 1:48 PM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
These are in terrible taste. Assassination, stabbing and over-zealous cavity searches are not things to be taken lightly.
Oh lighten up. Not only are totally playing into their tactics (nothing spells a good ad campaign than a bunch of uptight fuddieduddies standing around with their arms crossed giving their best "we are not amused" face.) but you also are, well, being an uptight fuddieduddie.
posted by aspo at 1:51 PM on June 5, 2008
Oh lighten up. Not only are totally playing into their tactics (nothing spells a good ad campaign than a bunch of uptight fuddieduddies standing around with their arms crossed giving their best "we are not amused" face.) but you also are, well, being an uptight fuddieduddie.
posted by aspo at 1:51 PM on June 5, 2008
"Oh lighten up."
Yeah, how dare you speak up and denounce something that you think is wrong. You are clearly just furthering the advertisers' goals. Next you'll be an old fuddieduddie and complain about scenes depicting rape as being a fun carefree activity.
posted by oddman at 2:25 PM on June 5, 2008
Yeah, how dare you speak up and denounce something that you think is wrong. You are clearly just furthering the advertisers' goals. Next you'll be an old fuddieduddie and complain about scenes depicting rape as being a fun carefree activity.
posted by oddman at 2:25 PM on June 5, 2008
Because assassination, stabbing and over-zealous cavity are NEVER used in humor. Ever.
posted by aspo at 2:26 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by aspo at 2:26 PM on June 5, 2008
where did that "searches" go? Hmm, better start looking around in my butt.
posted by aspo at 2:27 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by aspo at 2:27 PM on June 5, 2008
All right. What if one of these showed 'Tutsi' onions being chopped up by 'Hutu' carrots? Would that be amusing? Where do you draw the line?
Just because something is 'edgy' and controversial, and will cause an outcry amongst the fuddy-duddys, doesn't automatically mean it's cool or worthwhile. Sometimes (cf the Chapman Brother's graffito over Hitler's paintings) these just aren't good ideas.
Especially not for a burger chain.
posted by Flashman at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Just because something is 'edgy' and controversial, and will cause an outcry amongst the fuddy-duddys, doesn't automatically mean it's cool or worthwhile. Sometimes (cf the Chapman Brother's graffito over Hitler's paintings) these just aren't good ideas.
Especially not for a burger chain.
posted by Flashman at 2:29 PM on June 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
The airport security one does go a bit far (though only if you really read into it), but all the other linked examples seem fine. They are a lot edgier than most anything I've seen a fast food chain do here in the states, but that's not saying much.
posted by anifinder at 2:54 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by anifinder at 2:54 PM on June 5, 2008
All right. What if one of these showed 'Tutsi' onions being chopped up by 'Hutu' carrots? Would that be amusing? Where do you draw the line?
What line?
First of all, these are for GERMANY.
German kids will not start grabbing guns and starting to shoot vegetables, because there are much fewer guns around in Germany and it is much more difficult to get hold of a gun.
Secondly, how is this any worse than what is shown on TV at any given time of the day using real actors (not cartoons of vegetables for pete's sake).
Thirdly, you won't see these in the US, because they are showing how the PRESIDENT is ASSASSINATED. This is a taboo topic in the US.
posted by sour cream at 2:58 PM on June 5, 2008
What line?
First of all, these are for GERMANY.
German kids will not start grabbing guns and starting to shoot vegetables, because there are much fewer guns around in Germany and it is much more difficult to get hold of a gun.
Secondly, how is this any worse than what is shown on TV at any given time of the day using real actors (not cartoons of vegetables for pete's sake).
Thirdly, you won't see these in the US, because they are showing how the PRESIDENT is ASSASSINATED. This is a taboo topic in the US.
posted by sour cream at 2:58 PM on June 5, 2008
This is absolutely despicable. I am truly outraged that their "interactive" website would resize my browser. I have a right to privacy and Ill be damned if I let some kraut take it from me.
posted by subaruwrx at 3:37 PM on June 5, 2008
posted by subaruwrx at 3:37 PM on June 5, 2008
All right. What if one of these showed 'Tutsi' onions being chopped up by 'Hutu' carrots? Would that be amusing? Where do you draw the line?
Wait, do you really think the two are the same? Why stop there? I'm sure you can drag the Holocaust in there.
In the squirrel eating a cracker thread posted today someone posted a clip from American Psycho where Bateman kills a coworker with an axe in an obviously comedic scene. Does that cause your brow to furrow in dour disapproval as well? After all, serial killers are no laughing matter!
posted by aspo at 4:00 PM on June 5, 2008
Wait, do you really think the two are the same? Why stop there? I'm sure you can drag the Holocaust in there.
In the squirrel eating a cracker thread posted today someone posted a clip from American Psycho where Bateman kills a coworker with an axe in an obviously comedic scene. Does that cause your brow to furrow in dour disapproval as well? After all, serial killers are no laughing matter!
posted by aspo at 4:00 PM on June 5, 2008
>>SaintCynr, BK finally agreed to the tomato picker wage increase.
True, but only because it made them look bad. That they'd acted that at all speaks volumes about their priorities.
posted by SaintCynr at 4:32 PM on June 5, 2008
True, but only because it made them look bad. That they'd acted that at all speaks volumes about their priorities.
posted by SaintCynr at 4:32 PM on June 5, 2008
okay campaign but not edgy. it's just fart-joke level humor, which is appropriate for adolescent males. the tv commercial could have used some serious editing.
Woah. Did they suddenly decide to stop selling burgers to kids or something?
bk sells to men and boys, not balding hippies. do you really think crass humour and gratuitous violence is going to turn them off? in europe? in germany? anywhere but utah? if so... you might want to leave the state every once in a while.
These are in terrible taste. Assassination, stabbing and over-zealous cavity searches are not things to be taken lightly.
not true. the sad/objectionable needs to be made fun of or the world will end up a far too serious place. besides, the campaign is appropriate for the target audience.
No way would this pass muster in the UK. Here in London kids keep getting stabbed to death.
well, as someone working in advertising and living in london I can assure you you're mistake (further reading). we do get campaigns killed for showing a burping man at a kitchen table but violence is usually not a problem, suggested or implied even less.
having just moved to london from chicago, the whole brouhaha about sixteen deaths due to knives is somewhat surreal to me. 500, 600, 800 murders per year are normal in cities like LA, where I lived not too long ago. it's londoners who need to get a grip. we're having a pretty damn quiet life here with the story of one "gentle giant" being stabbed can dominate the newscasts for more than a week without being challenged by much else. if you think this is bad, do consider checking out the video archive on the CBS2 LA website. crime in london is a joke and so is the predictable media reaction (and the police force while I'm at it. is there a requirement for cops in the UK to be malnurished midgets? any self-respecting gangbanger worth his salt would make mincemeat out of them.)
What if one of these showed 'Tutsi' onions being chopped up by 'Hutu' carrots? Would that be amusing? Where do you draw the line?
the subject matter would be fine with me but I'd fire you for coming up with a campaign that your target audience would largely not get (which makes you a terrible communicator, not them stupid). not mentioning what has happening would be more disrespectful. but hey, let's turn your logic around: is showing cars acceptable? lots of people have died in them. is showing blue skies acceptable? the skies were blue on sept 11th. very traumatic imagery. I know, you think I'm being ridiculous but that's exactly what your argument "leads to." (don't even try the "but it's an ad" argument. language and subject matter is not fair game for some and out of bounds for others.)
outraged that their "interactive" website would resize my browser
seconded. I hate it when websites try that.
posted by krautland at 5:10 PM on June 5, 2008
Woah. Did they suddenly decide to stop selling burgers to kids or something?
bk sells to men and boys, not balding hippies. do you really think crass humour and gratuitous violence is going to turn them off? in europe? in germany? anywhere but utah? if so... you might want to leave the state every once in a while.
These are in terrible taste. Assassination, stabbing and over-zealous cavity searches are not things to be taken lightly.
not true. the sad/objectionable needs to be made fun of or the world will end up a far too serious place. besides, the campaign is appropriate for the target audience.
No way would this pass muster in the UK. Here in London kids keep getting stabbed to death.
well, as someone working in advertising and living in london I can assure you you're mistake (further reading). we do get campaigns killed for showing a burping man at a kitchen table but violence is usually not a problem, suggested or implied even less.
having just moved to london from chicago, the whole brouhaha about sixteen deaths due to knives is somewhat surreal to me. 500, 600, 800 murders per year are normal in cities like LA, where I lived not too long ago. it's londoners who need to get a grip. we're having a pretty damn quiet life here with the story of one "gentle giant" being stabbed can dominate the newscasts for more than a week without being challenged by much else. if you think this is bad, do consider checking out the video archive on the CBS2 LA website. crime in london is a joke and so is the predictable media reaction (and the police force while I'm at it. is there a requirement for cops in the UK to be malnurished midgets? any self-respecting gangbanger worth his salt would make mincemeat out of them.)
What if one of these showed 'Tutsi' onions being chopped up by 'Hutu' carrots? Would that be amusing? Where do you draw the line?
the subject matter would be fine with me but I'd fire you for coming up with a campaign that your target audience would largely not get (which makes you a terrible communicator, not them stupid). not mentioning what has happening would be more disrespectful. but hey, let's turn your logic around: is showing cars acceptable? lots of people have died in them. is showing blue skies acceptable? the skies were blue on sept 11th. very traumatic imagery. I know, you think I'm being ridiculous but that's exactly what your argument "leads to." (don't even try the "but it's an ad" argument. language and subject matter is not fair game for some and out of bounds for others.)
outraged that their "interactive" website would resize my browser
seconded. I hate it when websites try that.
posted by krautland at 5:10 PM on June 5, 2008
Fuck them I say.
Their food is salty crap, and no amount of advertising will change that.
They just peddle heart disease.
posted by mattoxic at 5:23 PM on June 5, 2008
Their food is salty crap, and no amount of advertising will change that.
They just peddle heart disease.
posted by mattoxic at 5:23 PM on June 5, 2008
"That they'd acted that at all speaks volumes about their priorities." condemned SaintCynr
Priority is the bottom line. They didn't want activists who likely are not customers telling BK they should dictate the wages of their suppliers. For the amount of extra money it will cost them (est. by the activists at) $250,000 /year, they could have done it and spun it into some nice PR, so poor decision on the part of BK's marketing department.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:36 PM on June 5, 2008
Priority is the bottom line. They didn't want activists who likely are not customers telling BK they should dictate the wages of their suppliers. For the amount of extra money it will cost them (est. by the activists at) $250,000 /year, they could have done it and spun it into some nice PR, so poor decision on the part of BK's marketing department.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:36 PM on June 5, 2008
it's londoners who need to get a grip. we're having a pretty damn quiet life here with the story of one "gentle giant" being stabbed can dominate the newscasts for more than a week without being challenged by much else. if you think this is bad, do consider checking out the video archive on the CBS2 LA website.
Oh shit. Have the hooligans finally become knife-wielding ruffians and/or scalawags? I'd hate to be a dustbin in Shaftesbury tonight!
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:45 PM on June 5, 2008
Oh shit. Have the hooligans finally become knife-wielding ruffians and/or scalawags? I'd hate to be a dustbin in Shaftesbury tonight!
posted by DecemberBoy at 8:45 PM on June 5, 2008
Oh shit. Have the hooligans finally become knife-wielding ruffians and/or scalawags? I'd hate to be a dustbin in Shaftesbury tonight!
harhar... it's teenage chavs poking each other with pocket knives, not even hooligans. that would at least be somewhat respectable violence.
posted by krautland at 4:18 AM on June 6, 2008
harhar... it's teenage chavs poking each other with pocket knives, not even hooligans. that would at least be somewhat respectable violence.
posted by krautland at 4:18 AM on June 6, 2008
Artw writes "Wheres the meat?"
Indeed. Aside from the weird feeling that this campaign is a little too much (in ways previously described above), I find it damn interesting that advertising for a burger place so scrupulously avoids the depiction or mention of anything other than veg in their ads. Unless BK suddenly became a vegan salad joint, what does this say about their own perception of their public image? Right up there with KFC dropping the full name to thus avoid having the word "fried" thrown in your face. They haven't become healthier, but their perception is that they must find a way to be perceived as healthier, thus this veg-only ad campaign to make you think their food is better for you.
Great use of money. Instead of, you know, actually making their food better for you.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:09 AM on June 6, 2008
Indeed. Aside from the weird feeling that this campaign is a little too much (in ways previously described above), I find it damn interesting that advertising for a burger place so scrupulously avoids the depiction or mention of anything other than veg in their ads. Unless BK suddenly became a vegan salad joint, what does this say about their own perception of their public image? Right up there with KFC dropping the full name to thus avoid having the word "fried" thrown in your face. They haven't become healthier, but their perception is that they must find a way to be perceived as healthier, thus this veg-only ad campaign to make you think their food is better for you.
Great use of money. Instead of, you know, actually making their food better for you.
posted by caution live frogs at 6:09 AM on June 6, 2008
Right up there with KFC dropping the full name to thus avoid having the word "fried" thrown in your face.
even though the switchover happened years ago, it is interesting to see some of the KFCs in poorer areas here in Toronto still display the full name.
posted by gman at 7:45 AM on June 6, 2008
even though the switchover happened years ago, it is interesting to see some of the KFCs in poorer areas here in Toronto still display the full name.
posted by gman at 7:45 AM on June 6, 2008
KFC returned the full "Kentucky Fried Chicken" brand to their marketing and print materials (food packaging etc.) several years ago -- right around the time they put Col. Sanders in an apron.
posted by Lazlo at 10:44 AM on June 6, 2008
posted by Lazlo at 10:44 AM on June 6, 2008
Yeah, well, it's not much a loss for me.
I've got diverticulosis and they cannot provide unseeded buns.
Cie la vie.
Bastards.
posted by Samizdata at 11:32 PM on June 6, 2008
I've got diverticulosis and they cannot provide unseeded buns.
Cie la vie.
Bastards.
posted by Samizdata at 11:32 PM on June 6, 2008
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posted by Artw at 10:19 AM on June 5, 2008