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

[Weathermaker]

obesity virgins, maybe? type 2 diabetes virgins, perhaps?

I agree these are funny ads, but they can be turned upside down and come back to bite BK.

[Qreative]

All's fair in love and advertising.

[phredralf]

Nice.

[mary jane]

i love how someone at the "Institute of Human Nutrition at Columbia University" equates big macs and whoppers with GUNS. yeah, that's obviously the next step from burgers...

I studied anthropology at university, and from that perspective, i'd like to add that this controversy is unfounded. apparently these critics don't have enough cultural curiosity to a.) learn the outcome of the taste test OR b.) spend time to get to know the people they are trying to help and teaching them how to cultivate food effectively in their environment instead of dropping bags of rice out of planes.

I'd call it insensitive if BK went to a culture that was traditionally vegetarian or held cows to be sacred and then had the testers try the burgers without telling them they were eating beef. Short of that, it's just interesting.

[tbirdalum]

Its amazing they did'nt say anything about using the term whopper and big mac when talking about virgins. Come on people, don't you think we could talk about something serious, like the Big 3?

[DAdvocate123]

This is the greatest ad ever. It is hilarious how it gets the Left so angry. I guess free food is exploitative.

[mirage2008]

That being said, I hope BK paid them well for using them in their ads to exploititavely.

[SingleWhiteMale]

Oh, you mean like how Sasha Cohen handsomely paid off the small Eastern Eurpean village that he raped and used?

Nice try. Thanks for playing.

[mirage2008]

Its a pretty funny ad concept, so I say well played to BK. However, I do agree it's highly unethical and arrogant to prance into these remote areas and throw your poison at these not-so-well-off people.

[mjb5406]

Next, the critics will be saying that BK should donate millions of Whoppers to starving nations to feed the hungry... I'm actually surprised that some zealot didn't take offense at the term "virgin", saying they would be better off using the term "newbie". This controversy is absurd.

[FormerReaganite]

um...I like Big Macs better. White Castle is good too...

[MIMom]

mmmmm....w­hite castle....­.

[davidwayneosedach]

That's brilliant marketing in this desperate economy.

[tailgateshirts]

They didnt have to pay them millions for their image either.... cutting costs

[estevancarlos]

I'm sorry but a Whopper is not the equivalent to a gun. Yes, this ad fetishizes and feeds into our primitivist perspectives but it's how we all work anyway. No reason to treat these people as some pure untouched creatures who shouldn't daarree touch a scary whopper.

[guither]

Burger King wins. Huffington Post and others get played. Burger King ads shown for free in the name of "controver­sy." Ad campaign's dream.