I'm waiting by the phone hoping Axel Schwan, the Global Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Burger King, dials me up so we can discuss their latest brain fumble. I mean, the FIFA World Cup is a great event to center an advertising and marketing campaign that will inevitably get their message out to the whole world. The World Cup is by far the most widely viewed sporting event on Earth -- with an audience reach of 3.5 billion -- and with that Burger King in Russia saw this as a prime opportunity to come up with a cheeky promotion, that maybe, just maaaaybe they didn’t think through all the way.
Burger King was trying to have it their way but trying to build up Russia's future in soccer by investing now by giving women a lifetime supply of Whoopers. But how would women be able to do that?
Above is the now delete post that translates like this:
"Burger King within the framework of social responsibility has appointed a rewards for girls who get pregnant from the stars of the world fútbol.
Each will receive 3,000,000 rubles and a lifelong supply of Whoppers. For these girls, it will be possible to get the best fútbol genes and will lay down the success of the Russian National Team for several generations ahead.
Forward. We believe in you."Mr. Schwan, as much as I rack my brain, there is no real positive in this stunt. I mean, didn't you watch the Oscars? Or all the Harvey Weinstein news?
#TimesUp bro!
Seriously.
No matter, the bosses stepped up and apologies were issued blah blah blah. Which spurred on an interesting conspiracy theory: what is brands are putting out this stuff on purpose?
As a bunch, us ad folks are pretty self aware to what works and what doesn't. Most of us are fairly skilled and in many cases, have big budgets, and are under heavy pressure to raise their client's brand profile. In a crowded marketplace, these modern Mad Men need to do something (anything) to get their voices heard and seen.
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| Passionate Soccer Fans at the FIFA World Cup. |
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the UK's advertising watchdog, has received 2400+ racism complaints from 956 different ads since 2013. Of those, 12 cases were formally investigated and 10 of those had the complaint upheld.
The power to ban adverts it thinks breaches its standards, but that usually isn't necessary because brands usually remove the offensive ads once the bad publicity starts.
Experience tells me that despite adverts being looked at by many many eyeballs before they make it to the public, a "lack of diversity" in advertising agencies means things can be missed. This is why marketing executives like Axel Schwan should be calling me. As I have ranted and raved in six previous articles and nearly daily in my own office, a simple pre-release phone call to the Media Guy can save you millions of dollars in bad publicity and wasted media buys. Reach out, I'll be there.
So did Burger King do this on purpose?
It's hard to say considering their track record. Burger King Russia division has a history of horrific publicity-baiting stunts. Last year it made fun of a teenage rape victim in an online marketing campaign, using the likeness of Diana Shurygina, who was raped when she was 16 at a house party, as part of a buy one get one free burger offer.
Ugh!
And it’s not just Russia...Burger King has a global track record of misogynistic advertising. In Singapore the company advertised a seven-inch burger with overtly sexual imagery and a tagline saying “It’ll blow your mind away.” The model featured in the 2009 advertising campaign later came forward to say she had no idea her image was going to be used in that way.
Double Ugh!
On the other hand, they come forth with a clever ad to commemorate that it's legal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia with free Whoppers (no pregnancy required).
For a entire month (June 24 to July 24), Burger King Saudi Arabia is giving its signature burger free to any woman in the driver's seat who pulls up to its drive-thru windows. The burgers will come wrapped in special paper, renaming the sandwich "WhoppHer."
So, will Burger King or Alex call the Media Guy? Remember this: one call to me will save could you a bunch of migraines and a boatload of cash...I advise you to strongly consider these words.
Previous "You Should Have Called the Media Guy" Columns:
H&M
The American Red Cross
Pepsi
Kellogg's
Anaheim Ducks
T-Mobile, Dove, and McDonald's