In their new advertising campaign, Burger king (BK) broke the internet with “The Beauty of No Artificial Preservatives” in which they depicted a furry, green, and mouldy Whopper to show that they’re about to cut artificial colours, flavors, and preservatives from their signature product.
The aim of this ad was to communicate that BK wanted to offer a healthier food option all over the countries in which they operated in and to make the customers crave healthier and organic ingredients. The whole point was to show transparency and the “real” factor behind the making of their burgers.
You can watch the ad in the video below;
On social media, the people’s opinion on this ad was divided. Some people praised BK for their daring method of communicating their message, but others did not seem to appreciate the mouldy burger as much.
Nonetheless, we have to give credit to BK that this move was pretty bold and daring.
Although most people seemed to react negatively towards the burger’s image, it didn’t stop the social media sharing of this burger. In fact, the # for this campaign got more than 21 million impressions.
To say the least, this campaign got everybody talking about BK and their “mouldy” burger. It certainly got most marketers impressed by it.
The vivid and jarring image of this burger played a major role in grabbing everyone’s attention. It had the shocking factor which allowed it to stand out and enhanced its ability to go viral.
However, did the campaign really achieve what BK aimed for?
That just depends on BK’s goals. Had the aim of BK been to have everyone talking about its brand, then, yes it did. However, the real aim, as we mentioned above, was to emphasise on the “real” aspect of BK’s products.
BK actually managed to achieve the latter, but it might have entailed some negative consequences.
According to a social analytics company called Brandwatch, the data they’ve collected shows that nearly 50,000 people perceived the “mouldy burger” ad as disgusting. Their data also showed that about 60% of BK’s mentions during the campaign were negative. It’s also important to mention that the whole campaign received a lot of negative publicity from talk shows and different media.
Due to the controversial nature of this ad, it certainly sparked a lot of online debates. However, it must be kept in mind that the aim of this ad wasn’t to increase sales but rather to communicate the brand’s values. It aimed to show BK’s commitment to cut all artificial preservatives.
The key problem here might lie in associations. Whenever someone thinks about BK, the image shown in this latest ad is most likely to appear in their mind. This is due to the shocking value of this image which gives it an added chance of memorability.
This might also increase the likelihood of associating such image with the brand on the long run, and it might affect our purchasing decisions later on.
If we come to think about this ad rationally, we shouldn’t be surprised by the burger’s appearance after 34 days. On the contrary, we should be paranoid if it doesn’t decay.
Another problem lies in the fact that we as humans aren’t as rational as we think we are when we’re making decisions.
The truth is, when purchasing products and ordering food, especially when we’re feeling hungry, our decisions aren’t going to be rational. When doing so, it is likely that the picture of the green mouldy burger will remain stuck in our head and at the top of our minds whenever we think about BK.
To add on, the fact that most consumers viewed it as “disgusting” might affect the overall brand sentiment. It might create new unwanted links and associations with the BK’s brand.
This new ad campaign by BK certainly took the communication of “no artificial preservative” to a whole new level. By doing so, they certainly planted a concrete image of “100% non-artificial” in the consumers’ minds, but this might result in negative consequences on purchasing decisions in the future.
After all, a brand should not really want its customers to have a negative perception of it. The ultimate aim should be to decrease the negative associations and correlations with the brand and to limit them.
What’s your personal opinion on Burger King’s “Mouldy Burger” ad, was it a Hit or a Miss? Do you think it might entail some consequences for BK in the future?
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