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Whopper Virgins Strategy • Take people that have never before experienced a burger, prove that they’ve never before experienced a burger with the fact that their language doesn’t even contain a word for burger, and then give them your burger and your competitor’s burger to see which one they like more • Most critical part is the execution of the campaign • Equal parts documentary and mocumentary • Commercial
Quote • Russ Klein, president of global marketing, strategy and innovation at Burger King • “During a time when consumers are craving it most, honesty and transparency are the heart and soul of this campaign. By embarking on a voyage of this magnitude that held no guarantees and left us open to vulnerabilities, we took a leap of faith that our signature product would win people over at first bite.”
Whopper Virgins Success • As of December 5th the Site has had 727,075 total visitors • Spend an average of nearly four minutes on the site • Also accessing the site via mobile devices, with 26,434 views so far • The documentary has 1.3 million views, whereas "Whopper Freakout" had roughly 1.5 million views by this time • Online parodies
Whopper Sacrifice • Promotion offers social networkers a free Whopper if they ditch 10 of their Facebook friends • Nearly 200,000 friends have been sacrificed to as of December 2008 totaling 20,000 free sandwiches being given out • Facebook has officially discontinued this application as of January 2009 due to the high rate of users “sacrificing” their friends for a free burger • Whopper virgin ads will be run until December 2009
The Good vs. The Bad • THE GOOD • Controversy leads to tons of press coverage • Unique spin on the taste test gives an old format new life • Campaign spans multiple channels, drawing viewers in from all around • Countdown builds hype and gives the campaign an official release • THE BAD • Controversy means much of the press coverage is negative • Hype must be lived up to
Questions? • Would any of you added the “Whopper Sacrifice” application to your Facebook account if it was still valid? • What are your perceptions of the “Whopper Virgins” ads? • Do you feel they will continue to be a success through 2009?
Sources • http://adage.com/digital/article?article_id=133721 • http://thefutureofads.com/2008/12/05/controversy-makes-whopper-virgins-a-success-for-burger-king/