So apparently you can get in trouble for virtual human sacrifices as well as real ones. Just a week after the launch of Whopper Sacrifice, Burger King has been forced to alter a key element of the wildly successful Facebook app. During the last week, the app was used by 82,000 people to delete over 230,000 friendships on Facebook. Sacrificing at least 10 friends secured a coupon for a free Whopper at Burger King.
Facebook has claimed that the app's method of notifying the friends being deleted that they are being sacrificed is a privacy violation and runs counter to the interests of the users. Something about that argument sounds as funky to me as last Wednesday's french fry grease. Facebook may welcome with open arms an application that strengthens the network between its users and prompts increased use and page views, but it looks to me like they don't want anybody influencing their users to cut back at all.
I doubt we've heard the last of this one. You don't mess with the King, and you don't taunt someone who already markets an "Angry Whopper"
Showing posts with label burger king. Show all posts
Showing posts with label burger king. Show all posts
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Whopper Sacrifice - Social Marketing Gets Vicious
OK, this is the most unique social networking campaign I think I've ever seen. Whopper Sacrifice is the latest, greatest thing from Burger King designed to get under our skin and into our consciousness. They've created a Facebook application that bribes consumers to delete 10 of their friends from Facebook in exchange for a free Whopper.
It's a work of evil genius! First, they offer up a Faustian deal, with a tempting free meal weighed against your loyalty to people you've publicly linked yourself to. Then, if you succumb to the temptation, they broadcast your betrayals through your Wall. And once you've sacrificed one, two, five friends, are you really going to stop before you get the burger? No way! You're too far in. The Whopper Sacrifice must continue.
Finally, when you've made your deal with the King [of darkness], can you honestly say that you won't be thinking about what you've done with a slight taste of guilt in your mouth as you eat your free Whopper? And when the deed is done, and the crimson ketchup is all over your hands...
"Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky." - William Shakespeare
It's a work of evil genius! First, they offer up a Faustian deal, with a tempting free meal weighed against your loyalty to people you've publicly linked yourself to. Then, if you succumb to the temptation, they broadcast your betrayals through your Wall. And once you've sacrificed one, two, five friends, are you really going to stop before you get the burger? No way! You're too far in. The Whopper Sacrifice must continue.
Finally, when you've made your deal with the King [of darkness], can you honestly say that you won't be thinking about what you've done with a slight taste of guilt in your mouth as you eat your free Whopper? And when the deed is done, and the crimson ketchup is all over your hands...
"Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky." - William Shakespeare
Friday, October 5, 2007
King on the Road: Burger King Goes Mobile
Here's a tasty piece of news. Marketwatch is reporting that Burger King has signed a deal for the development of a set of branded games for mobile phones. This follows last year's offering of three Xbox 360 console games featuring "The King" ("Pocketbike Racer," "Big Bumpin'", and "Sneak King") which sold over 2 million copies!
The games will be produced by Mobliss, a company which has publishing agreements with Sprint, AT&T, Alltel, Verizon and T-Mobile, which means the games will have significant consumer availability.
This isn't the first time Burger King has willingly embraced new marketing techniques and reaped benefits. From its successful viral marketing campaign with "Subservient Chicken" to its user-generated content site at PetMoustache.com, BK continues to show itself as an industry leader.
This lastest effort is an equally smart move. "The King" character has rejuvenated Burger King's mind-share and BK's willingness to embrace branded games has really upped the fun level of a brand that has to compete with the world's most famous clown.
The games will be produced by Mobliss, a company which has publishing agreements with Sprint, AT&T, Alltel, Verizon and T-Mobile, which means the games will have significant consumer availability.
This isn't the first time Burger King has willingly embraced new marketing techniques and reaped benefits. From its successful viral marketing campaign with "Subservient Chicken" to its user-generated content site at PetMoustache.com, BK continues to show itself as an industry leader.
This lastest effort is an equally smart move. "The King" character has rejuvenated Burger King's mind-share and BK's willingness to embrace branded games has really upped the fun level of a brand that has to compete with the world's most famous clown.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
A Tale of Two Burgers: PetMoustache.com vs Gofbot.com
Throughout the history of modern marketing, there have been some truly legendary rivalries. One of the biggest has been between the Clown and the King. In other words, McDonald's vs. Burger King. This rivalry has been going for a long time and certainly shows no signs of slowing. At the same time, there has certainly been a shift in the balance of power in the marketing to the adult demographic in recent years. The current balance (in favor of Burger King, in my opinion) is obvious by looking at new campaigns from both camps that debuted in recent days: "Gofbot.com" from McDonalds and the Western Whopper mustached campaign (featuring PetMoustache.com) from Burger King.
PetMoustache.com
I'll lead off with Burger King. Ever since they revived their mascot, in the form of a regally dressed, slightly creepy king with a permanent plastic smile, their marketing has been interesting, innovative and eye-catching. In this campaign, they are touting the limited-time-only Western Whopper by giving this sandwich the supernatural power of growing a western cowboy moustache on anyone who eats it. In the TV commercials, we see various types of consumers happily savoring the Western Whopper with a big bushy moustache growing on their face, whether they are teens, old ladies playing cards, or even a lucky basset hound that gets to finish his owner's burger. All of this is interspersed with western music and shots of The King doing a bit of an old-west jig.
The commercials themselves are attention-grabbing, but in keeping with Burger King's commitment to online marketing (which goes all the way back to Subservient Chicken) they don't stop with just the commercials. At the end of each commercial, they show the URL for PetMoustache.com. This microsite lets visitors upload a photo of their own face from their computer (of course, I'm sure you could use a friend's face instead) and grow, trim and style a moustache on top of it.
Burger King really brings together an all-star collection of viral marketing and interactive branding features in PetMoustache.com. They give visitors to PetMoustache.com the ability to send customized, singing telegram emails to their friends. They also provide several incentives for visitors to register (
GofBot.com
McDonald's new commercial promoting the venerable Big Mac focuses on a startup "dot com" company that claims its forthcoming website will be "bigger than the Big Mac". This creates tons of buzz and hype (obviously suggesting that anything bigger than the Big Mac must be the end-all-be-all). When the site finally launches at the end of the commercial, the "visitors" counter rings up a grand total of three visits. A delivery guy (eating a Big Mac) says "I guess it wasn't bigger than the Big Mac".
It's an okay commercial, but nothing particularly memorable. At the same time, the name of this fictional company, GofBot.com, is repeated many, many times through the commercial. This creates a great opportunity for McDonald's to take a few more cheap shots at dotcom mania and build up more brand exposure for the Big Mac. McDonald's has squandered this opportunity. All that exists at GofBot.com is a single, poorly prepared page, that is only slightly humorous. It does link across to the main McDonald's website, but to a fairly uninspiring "burgers" subpage.
The Winner
A visit to Alexa shows that both website have been getting traffic, a clear indication that the mere mention or presence of these URLS in the tv commercials are driving consumers to check them out. From the perspective of branding, Burger King is embracing this traffic, and McDonald's is wasting it. In this head-to-head, we're declaring the King is still the King.
PetMoustache.com
I'll lead off with Burger King. Ever since they revived their mascot, in the form of a regally dressed, slightly creepy king with a permanent plastic smile, their marketing has been interesting, innovative and eye-catching. In this campaign, they are touting the limited-time-only Western Whopper by giving this sandwich the supernatural power of growing a western cowboy moustache on anyone who eats it. In the TV commercials, we see various types of consumers happily savoring the Western Whopper with a big bushy moustache growing on their face, whether they are teens, old ladies playing cards, or even a lucky basset hound that gets to finish his owner's burger. All of this is interspersed with western music and shots of The King doing a bit of an old-west jig.
The commercials themselves are attention-grabbing, but in keeping with Burger King's commitment to online marketing (which goes all the way back to Subservient Chicken) they don't stop with just the commercials. At the end of each commercial, they show the URL for PetMoustache.com. This microsite lets visitors upload a photo of their own face from their computer (of course, I'm sure you could use a friend's face instead) and grow, trim and style a moustache on top of it.
Burger King really brings together an all-star collection of viral marketing and interactive branding features in PetMoustache.com. They give visitors to PetMoustache.com the ability to send customized, singing telegram emails to their friends. They also provide several incentives for visitors to register (
GofBot.com
McDonald's new commercial promoting the venerable Big Mac focuses on a startup "dot com" company that claims its forthcoming website will be "bigger than the Big Mac". This creates tons of buzz and hype (obviously suggesting that anything bigger than the Big Mac must be the end-all-be-all). When the site finally launches at the end of the commercial, the "visitors" counter rings up a grand total of three visits. A delivery guy (eating a Big Mac) says "I guess it wasn't bigger than the Big Mac".
It's an okay commercial, but nothing particularly memorable. At the same time, the name of this fictional company, GofBot.com, is repeated many, many times through the commercial. This creates a great opportunity for McDonald's to take a few more cheap shots at dotcom mania and build up more brand exposure for the Big Mac. McDonald's has squandered this opportunity. All that exists at GofBot.com is a single, poorly prepared page, that is only slightly humorous. It does link across to the main McDonald's website, but to a fairly uninspiring "burgers" subpage.
The Winner
A visit to Alexa shows that both website have been getting traffic, a clear indication that the mere mention or presence of these URLS in the tv commercials are driving consumers to check them out. From the perspective of branding, Burger King is embracing this traffic, and McDonald's is wasting it. In this head-to-head, we're declaring the King is still the King.
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