Burger King’s ‘Pride Whopper’ agency apologizes for controversial campaign

Last week, Burger King Austria caused a stir on social media with its "Pride Whopper" campaign that didn’t quite land as intended with the LGBTQ+ community. The agency behind it, Jung von Matt Donau, has apologized. “The intended message of the ‘Pride Whopper’ was to spread equal love and equal rights," the Austrian outpost of Germany-based Jung von Matt stated on LinkedIn. "Our strongest concern is if we offended members of the LGBTQ Community with this campaign. If this is the case, we truly apologize.” Subscribe to Ad Age Sign up now for the latest industry news and analysis Click here The “Pride Whopper” refers to a version of Burger King’s signature burger with a curious twist: each order is served with either two sesame-coated top buns or two flat-bottom buns on either side. A Burger King spokesperson told Ad Age in an email that the dish is meant to “highlight equal rights and equal love—through a play on the traditional Whopper build—featuring two identical buns on the two options of the sandwich.” But some consumers saw it differently. Though the dominant online sentiment expressed seemed to be amused confusion rather than offense, it centered on the impression that “Pride Whoppers” demonstrated a fundamental misunderstanding of how queer relationships work, primarily gay sex. One commenter on the original Instagram post from Burger King Austria responds, “Burgee king [sic] really said: the tops and bottoms may EAT now,” and another wonders, “Two tops and two bottoms? How’s that work?” I’m just obsessed with the same-bun Pride Whopper promo because straight people saw it and were like “oh ok it’s like two boys and two girls I guess” and gay people saw it and were like “??? two tops and two bottoms????” Incredible— Caitlin J. Stout (@CaitlinJStout) June 7, 2022 The discourse on Twitter was similar, with a rush of tweets wondering if the restaurant understands the logistics of how gay men copulate—calling into question whether any queer creatives were assigned to the brief in the first place. “We at Jung von Matt Donau are proud of our queer community within our agency,” the agency said. “Unfortunately, we still messed up and didn’t check well enough with community members on different interpretations of the ‘Pride Whopper.’ That’s on us.” The agency added that the campaign included a partnership with LGBTQ+ influencers, but that “we’ve learned our lessons and will include experts on communicating with the LGBTQ community for future work as promoting equal love and equal rights will still be a priority for us.” Consulting with LGBTQ+ creatives and experts has emerged as key to successful Pride campaigning, such as in Postmates’ recent work on queer sexual health. It's also important for brands to back up rainbow campaigns with purposeful action or charity work. As one "Pride Whopper" Instagram commenter put it, “WTF. What are you actually DOING to support the community? Aside from this MESS?” Cannes Lions 2022 Read all of Ad Age’s festival coverage here Check out our live blog here The ‘Pride Whopper’ campaign website as well as information from Burger King Austria state that the country’s restaurant chain “serves as an Official Proud Partner and Sponsor of Vienna Pride 2022," although the extent of the partnership is not clear. The controversy around the campaign is yet another cautionary tale, via Burger King, around how brands should act when delivering socially-conscious messages. Last year, Burger King had come under fire when the intent of its International Women's Day campaign was misinterpreted by consumers.

Burger King’s ‘Pride Whopper’ agency apologizes for controversial campaign

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