Burger King's "Whopper Virgins" Advertisement Ignites Controversy (VIDEO)

The Wall Street Journal reports on Burger King's latest ad campaign, "Whopper Virgins," which is already generating a fair amount of controversy:

The No. 2 burger maker in the U.S. asked farmers in the Transylvania region of Romania, the Hmong tribe of Thailand, and other folks in far-flung places to sample its Whopper alongside McDonald's Big Mac and declare the winner.

One ad, set to begin airing Monday, features images of villagers in traditional garb choosing the Whopper over the Big Mac. A Transylvanian woman, an Inuit tribesman from the Icelandic tundra and others point and, in their native tongues, declare their preference for Burger King's flagship product.

"We traveled to find the most isolated people in the world...the world's purest taste test," a voiceover says.

Burger King says it was trying to find "Whopper Virgins," which is also the name of its campaign. "We wanted to see how the Whopper would perform in a world that didn't have ad or marketing awareness or any sentimental attachments" to either brand, says Russ Klein, president of global marketing, strategy and innovation at Burger King Holdings.

Some critics have called the ad's use of poor villagers offensive, reports the New York Daily News:

"It's outrageous," said Sharon Akabas of the Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University. "What's next? Are we going to start taking guns out to some of these remote places and ask them which one they like better?"

"It's insulting," she said, adding that the money used to make the documentary would have been better spent trying to end hunger - not create it.

Marilyn Borchardt, development director for Food First, called the campaign insensitive.

"The ad's not even acknowledging that there's even hunger in any of these places," she said.

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WATCH the ad featuring Thai Hmong tribesman.

WATCH the ad featuring Transylvanian farmers.

Are these ads offensive or is this much ado about nothing? Let us know.

Comments

[TruthAndTheory]

Can't seem to view the ad. However, I do get the point, of trying to find people who have never heard of BK, and getting their opinion, for the sake of a commercial. But fast food restaurants always target the poorest. In the US alone, it's often the poor who make Mickey Ds and BK their staple, because it's cheaper than buying groceries. And now, they are targeting the poor in other countries. They could find people who are more well off, but live remotely, and still prove their point.

The downside, is that these people, who may not be wealthy, but get by on their native diet, are now introduced to the most severely unhealthy, fatty, calorie-laden food that exists. If they develop a craving for it, just imagine - they would throw away their traditional foods for this cheap lump of meat mush.

[littlepuffycloud]

Oh great...no­w the fast food monsters are trying to ruin the health of the rest of the world and turn them into obese slobs. Good to know The Ugly American is still alive and kicking; until their cholesterol clogged veins result in a massive coronary. Nice real nice.

[Fraisebalm]

There's plenty of things to be offended about when it comes to burger king. In fact that's good. More people should be angry at them as well as McDonalds and any other advertising burger whores. The commercials are not offensive in terms of culture acknowlegment or starvation. Actually I don't find the ads offensive at all. I find the term "whopper virgins" to be a little unsettling and typical of moronic American Advertising. It's just another stupid commericial that everyone can be offended about for no genuine reason. If your concerned about world hungar, do your own part. It's not bugar king's obligation (or priority), and it's pretty obvious that it's not. Plus I think I'd rather starve to death, then die because of being a fatass who ate to much burgar king.

[joshuadean]

these adds are making me thirsty.

nonsense. Burger King can spend their money any way they want.

if you'll excuse me, i'm going to eat a waffle....

[NewArtz]

America has always been in the business of deflowering the world with it's consumer driven propoganda. What more expresses the cultural rape of the world than stuffing whoppers down the virgin throats of hungry people?. It's all so obscene, yet so accepted. I'd rather watch porn and eat a veggie burger.

[larry278]

It's too bad that Burger King let their ad agency have its way with the ads.

[twokidsonecat]

I lost respect for Burger King when they started using that creepy king in their ads. It's just weird and never made sense.

[roninroshi]

The burger ads...Tast­eless!

[joebiz]

Funny as hell. Why don't we bring some of the bugs and other critters they eat in those parts of the world and feed people in New York and have them make a comparison: Which is better, bettle or ant larvae?

[prthatrocks]

Whopper Newbies would have been better.

[prthatrocks]

The best form of publicity is controversy. What's the problem?

[RightWingMarine]

it is not the responsibility of Burger King to end world hunger. There responsibility is to the stockholders which is to turn a profit. The people of some remote tribe aren't going to be buying any burgers either way but the ad gets people talking abou Burger King whcih is good for the stockholders.

[littlepuffycloud]

And of course, the stockholders' well being is all that matters in the world.

[RightWingMarine]

it is all that matters to the company. It is not the responsibility of the stockholders to end world hunger either.

[cruzy]

I have to say the "protest" (if a few quotes from an obviously uptight NGO worker could be called a "protest) just seems like so much nonesense. The "poor villagers" are compensated for appearing in the commercials. Also, they may not live in a big city or be Americans, but that doesn't make them idiot children who need Ms. Akabas to play their guardian--she is the one who comes across as arrogant and condescending.

As for the ads themselves, they seem a little silly to me, and not particularly persuasive, but not offensive. Of course, I am not someone waiting around to be offended about issues; I would much rather work to resolve them. So rather than being preachy, I volunteer to help the homeless and hungry in my community and generously contribute to organizations which help hungry individuals in the U.S. and around the world. What I and others like me do does far more to help solve the issue of hunger in the world than giving some schoolmarmish lecture about a silly commercial.

[wordjunkie]

This is a great campaign idea. Anyone who takes it seriously has way too much time on their hands.

[Jezreel]

This is certainly one of the most meaningless controversies and wasteful uses of time I've read about in months.