Whopper Virgins?!?!? Are You *&^*!%) Serious, Burger King?

I guess it's appropriate that while I was sprawled on the couch this weekend, in my warm house, still recovering from Thursday's eating championship, I became enraged by what I saw on the TV.

Burger King has this new campaign that is just downright ridiculous. It's called Whopper Virgins and the premise is this: take Whoppers and Big Macs to parts of the world where people haven't been exposed to either and ask them to determine which sandwich is the best. Burger King touts it as "the world's purest taste test." I call it, "Extremely Fucked Up."

The commercials frame the taste-testers in a very condescending way. "They don't even have a word for burger! They've never tasted fast food! They still use donkeys!" My word, Burger King, how did you even find these savage beings? Maybe you should partner up with National Geographic to find out just how these frightening people have survived this long without your Grade D beef!

Frankly, you have to have some serious balls, or I guess just be that privileged and stupid and wrapped up in your first-world idiocy, to go to these parts of the world where people are impoverished and starving and be like, "Hey, we have a serious problem in America: we don't know if the Whopper is better than the Big Mac. We need your help! Don't worry. After this, you can go back to the sweatshop and make us some jeans. Aren't you a good little villager, helping us benevolent Americans out?"

Oh, sure. The people in the commercials are smiling and going along with the whole thing. That doesn't mean it's okay and Burger King should really know better. I'm sure the whole thing will get a huge response and BK will eventually chalk it up with their advertising successes. But I think it's stupid, racist, and a disgusting display of ignorance and privilege and I know I'm not alone.

Serious Eats
NY Daily News
Inquisitr
AdFreak

Comments

[DianaCLT]

OF COURSE those people are smiling! They are hungry, damnit! It's something to fill their starved bellies...'til they get the runs or immense gas as a result of BK food!

Talk about exploitation. What soul-less person thought up this gimmick? Why doesn't BK go ahead and tell these savages just how the meat is raised, processed, and devoid of any nutrition, whatsoever?

[Sils]

Yeah, the response at my house was actual mouth-falling-open horror. My boyfriend and I were rendered speechless, nothing but enraged sputtering followed.

[sweetney]

goooooooo cultural imperialism! gah.

[BaltimoreGal]

Yeah, just a BIT condescending. I guess they think they went around being racist by using white people for one of the commercials.
I'm hoping some religious group will get mad about the use of the word "virgin" and shut this thing down.

[Snarky Amber]

Dear God. what would Edward Said have said about this shit, I wonder?

Orientalism at its finest. Keep it classy, BK.

[Karen]

Um. Are we sure those are actual, native people of those countries? Might they have just grabbed some actors and dressed them in the native garb of whatever country and had them pretend?

I know it's not any less offensive in regards to the portrayal of the country in question, but I highly doubt that they went around and recruited locals from these places.

[Suzy Q]

It doesn't matter if they're actors or not. This campaign sucks.

[kdiddy]

having actors dress up in native garb would actually be worse.

[Wallydraigle]

Not to mention that, if these people are undernourished, any kind of burger is going to make them horribly ill.

I vote for them being actors. There's just no way they're the real deal. I hope there's just no way.

[Fairly Odd Mother]

Screw Motrin. This is a good reason to get really pissed off about a company. And, to think I was going to take the kids there tomorrow as a 'treat'. Ugh.

And, if Burger King is going to leave behind their Whoppers as a legacy to "these people", maybe we should check in on them in 10 years and see how they are doing in the heart disease & obesity department.

[Irma]

Not sure who I want to bitch slap more, the BK exec who approved the campaign, or the ad agency for proposing it in the first place.

[DianaCLT]

Okay - nobody else nailed me on it, but I just re-read my initial comment, and I wanted to let you all know that I meant "savages" sarcastically, and actually forgot to put the "" around the word!

[natalie]

I am glad you all agree with me on this because when I saw this commercial and turned to my family members they were all "meh who cares"...I was floored

[Erin]

Oh. My. God... For real or not, this is so wrong! One more reason for me to not eat Burger King -not that I'm heartbroken about that, but I'll be a helluva lot more vocal about it now. Wow.