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14 June 2022

The creators of Burger King’s ‘Pride Whoppers’ say they “messed up”

We weren't expecting a top/bottom Pride campaign from Burger King.

By Emily Maskell

Words: Emily Maskell; pictures: Instagram/@burgerkingaustria

In the world of Pride campaigns, Burger King’s ‘Pride Whoppers’ was one for the books and social media had a field day.

Announced in an Instagram post, Burger King Austria posted that for Pride month they are releasing the ‘Pride Whopper’ – a burger served with either two ‘top’ buns or two ‘bottom’ buns.

The Austrian franchise posted that the twist on the traditional burger symbolises “two equal buns for equal love and equal rights.”

While Burger King said their Pride special was a reminder to “treat each other respectfully and peacefully,” people quickly took the campaign as a bizarre Pride month top/bottom offering.

Most of the reactions online to Burger King’s Pride campaign were making fun of the brand’s obliviousness to its own messaging.

One Twitter user posted: “Burger King Austria made a Pride burger that’s either two tops or two bottoms… what in straight hell?”

One comment, which has over 1,600 likes reads: “one day Into pride month and already exhausted” Another says: “Is… is someone going to tell them”.

In a post published on LinkedIn following the ad’s misguided approach, the Austrian branch of Ad agency Jung von Matt Donau apologised for the Pride campaign, admitting that they had “messed up”.

The post reads: “We’ve heard your voices and listened carefully… We at JvM Donau are proud of our queer community within our agency. 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 intended message of the Pride Whopper was to spread equal love and equal rights. Our strongest concern is if we offended members of the LGBTQ Community with this campaign. If this is the case, we truly apologize.”

“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.”

While the ad may have been rescinded, the limited-edition Pride Whoppers are still going ahead and will be available at Austrian locations through June 20.

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