Abstract

This case is about US-based fast food giant Burger King Corporation’s (Burger King) ‘Whopper Virgins’ campaign that was launched in December 2008. This was a viral integrated campaign that involved conducting a ‘taste test’ where participants were asked to select the best burger after having Burger King’s flagship product, the Whopper, and the signature product of its competitor McDonald’s, the BigMac. What made the campaign especially noteworthy was the fact that the respondents selected for this test were from the remotest parts of the world, and according to Burger King, they did not have any knowledge about burgers or other American food. The viral campaign was backed by other promotional elements such as TV advertisements, print, and online ads. The campaign generated a lot of buzz in the blogosphere as well as other media and quickly spread through word-of-mouth marketing. While many experts commended the viral marketing campaign for having helped in brand recognition, many others criticized the campaign idea, describing it as offensive and culturally insensitive. Some ad experts also pointed out that due to errors regarding search engine optimization techniques in the viral strategy adopted, the campaign had not been effective in garnering as much of a reaction as intended. Critics also raised questions about the authenticity of the taste test conducted by Burger King.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Understand the issues and challenges in launching a viral marketing campaign. Analyze the ‘Whopper Virgins’ marketing campaign and understand why it was criticized for being culturally insensitive. Discuss and debate the ethical considerations involved. I

Keywords

Viral marketing, Marketing strategy, Branding, Advertising, Culturally insensitive, Ethics, Word-of-mouth marketing, brand awareness, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Viral Error, Taste test, Market research, Burger King, Wendy's, McDonald's