UNABLE TO TURN THE OTHER CHEEK, BELGIAN ROYALTY TOO WELL DONE
In a classic and proven method for corporate retail to expand their market as well as their market share, Burger King aimed to do both with a playful ad campaign in Belgium. Aiming to open its first of many Burger King locations in-country, Burger King had been advertising the question “Who is the King?” to citizens there. “Two kings, one single crown, who shall reign? Vote now … ” It sounds fun, right? Not so fast, said Belgian royalty.
BELGIAN KING OFFENDED BY USE OF CARTOON LIKENESS, NO COMMENT ON COMPARISONS TO MOHAMMED
Anyone clicking to vote for the 57-year-old monarch then faces a series of questions such as: “Are you sure … ? He won’t cook you fries.” If you are Belgian perhaps you may be amused, think it’s inappropriate or even be offended. Not that the populace has ever been famous for its royal family fervor. But if you are Belgian royalty, never mind the “reigning” King, this turned out to be completely unacceptable.
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A spokesman for Belgium’s royal family told reporters that they had reached out to Burger King to express their disapproval of the advertisement, which features a cartoon image of King Philippe. A spokeswoman for Burger Brands Belgium said the company had decided to pull the campaign after the conversation with the palace.
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No word yet if Burger King plans to make a second attempt partnererd with McDonald’s and run a sister campaign about the “Royale With Cheese.” The website (whoistheking.be) now just features the company logo with the word “king” removed, adding in French, “There is no place for two kings in Belgium.”
No word from Burger King to see how the voting was going. Perhaps the fix was in?
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