If you’ve been wondering what ever happened to Burger King, you’re not alone. While they haven’t had much success with new food items (let’s not discuss Mac N’ Cheetos), they’ve persisted in the fast-food industry by making a powerful statement. A statement about bullying.
Their new ad campaign for the Whopper Junior acts as a PSA about bullying in young kids and more specifically, bystander intervention.
The ad featured teen actors and real customers, as well as employees who were in on the experiment. One of the teens started harassing another by throwing his food, spilling his drink, verbally abusing him, and even shoving him to the ground. Customers in the establishment seemed aware, yet unbothered.
Then we see a Burger King employee “bully” a Whopper Jr. burger. He smashes the burger with his hand, wraps it up, and sends it out.
Customers receiving the bullied burgers are visibly annoyed, and a whopping (pun intended) 95% complain to the cashier. The employees do not take these complaints seriously in hopes that the customers get the idea. An employee even asks, “Had you seen me bully this burger, would you have stood up and said something?” As a metaphor for bystander intervention.
Sadly, only 12% of customers reported the teen bullying. However, words of encouragement from the two bystanders caught on film were truly heartwarming. “To feel defenseless, that’s one of the worst things in the world” one said, “I’ve been that kid, so if I see it, I’m going to do something about it.”
It’s tremendously inspiring to see major companies address issues like these in their campaigns. I hope that this trend of purposeful advertisements continues, as this is the content that is most influential to our world.