Is the Whopper Virgins Taste Test In Bad Taste?

Last night BK revealed its Whopper Virgins campaign. If you didn't already know, teasers have been circulating for a couple weeks now with a reveal of their documentary type video of the taste test last night.



The reviews have been mixed and I sit a bit mixed myself. The mini-documentary was nothing unexpected. It seems like a pretty straight and serious little documentary. The campaign has come under fire mostly due to the idea of feeding unhealthy, trans-fat laden food to healthier rural cultures and presenting it as a wonderful thing. My personal problem with it is how heroic Burger King seems to paint themselves. Really? I mean I love to travel, learn about other cultures and teach them about mine in return, but the Whopper is not something I epitomize as American. The hamburger, maybe, but that hamburger wouldn't be fast food. Granted, I realize it's a commercial for Burger King, but still, really?

The other major problem with this ad is the question of whether they're making fun of these cultures. At first, I thought documentary seemed sincere and had issues with it then, but after a debate with my creative director, I'm not so sure. His take was that the documentary is really poking fun at these cultures and their naivety of the hamburger, Christopher Guest style. I'm not entirely convinced, but given it's by CP+B, who knows? If it is really intended to be a mockumentary, then I really have a problem with its condescending tone, but I'm just not sure if it's quite absurd enough to qualify.

AdWeek's Barbara Lippert has an interesting review too.

What do you think? Is it intended to be serious or absurd? Is it condescending or funny? Is infiltrating foreign cultures with Whoppers something to be ashamed of or proud of?

Cleaning Up Clean Coal Misconceptions

Clean coal is quite the buzz word this year. It was thrown around during the elections by both parties and it's been popping up in various news stories and industry speak all over the place. I try to keep up on climate control measures and sustainability, but when the term 'clean coal' started cropping up everywhere, I really didn't know what it meant. I really wasn't sure how I felt about clean coal since it seemed a bit like an oxymoron, plus it still depletes natural resources. I intended to look into it someday, but never quite got around to it. I inferred from all the references I'd heard, however, that 'clean coal technology' was something that was currently available and clean (aka as clean or close to as clean as other alternative energies like wind or solar).

That is not the case.

Driving home last night, I was listening to NPR and they were discussing a new ad campaign launching today from the Alliance for Climate Protection headed by Al Gore. Robert Siegel interviewed both Al Gore and Joe Lucas, vice president for communications for the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, and covered their dispute over the term 'clean coal' and the ads below that started running today.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased, but based on my experience with the term as I described above, I sided with Gore on this one. According to Joe Lucas, clean coal technology is a relative term, like medical technology. It refers to technological advancements in that industry, meaning our current polluting coal plants are using clean coal technology right now since they are cleaner than they used to be and as the technology progresses, they will continue to get even cleaner.

Gore and the Alliance for Climate Protection, however, suggest the clean coal technology simply doesn't exist, at least not right now and maybe never. Again, it's all in how you choose to interpret it. Gore's argument is the industry is throwing around the term as if clean coal currently exists and is as clean as other alternative energy sources. He asserts that is simply not true. Gore suggests that the industry is using the term to get authority to build plants now with a 'plan' to retrofit these plants with 'clean coal technology' when (or if) it becomes available. Much of the argument is semantics, but this is the argument behind the Alliance for Climate Protection's new ad spot.



As much as I agree with clarifying that we don't currently have clean coal technology, the ad implies not only that it doesn't exist, but can't exist. The truth is, it doesn't exist yet, and maybe it never will, but it makes the ad itself a bit confusing and misleading. I think it's on the right path and I agree with its mission, but it doesn't come close to telling me what I should know about clean coal. Outright calling clean coal's existance a lie actually makes me skeptical without further information. There is a website with some information and links, but the URL is barely visible at the end of the ad for less than a second. I had to re-watch the ad and specifically look for it to see it at all. The site itself is pretty basic, so while there's a web component, with the amount of education needed, I'm surprised the web component isn't more extensive. As someone sympathetic to their cause, if the ad makes me skeptical at first, what chance does it have of convincing anyone?

Great idea and worthy cause, but this campaign just isn't cutting it.

Some Topics Are Just Off Limits

Will advertisers ever learn? Pepsi Max has a new print ad featuring a very lonely calorie that's committing suicide. Oh, dear. Does this sound familiar? Will advertisers ever learn that even if the creative concept itself is great, sometimes you just don't go there. Suicide is one of those subjects. Conceptually, it's great, but no matter how right the concept is, or how great the art direction is, consumers are NEVER going to find it funny.

BK Seeks Outside Taste Buds

Burger King's latest campaign, the Whopper Virgin taste test, is intriguing. It pits the BK Whopper against the McDonald's Big Mac. Hmm...I wonder what the outcome will be? The Whopper? It's a clever way to refresh the age-old taste test idea and I'm curious to see what CP+B pulls out for the final taste test results reveal next Monday.

The site, whoppervirgins.com, is just a tease with flash banner visuals, some looping music and a count down at the moment, but hopefully once the campaign gets going it'll become more interactive. We'll see...

Complaining Consumers Isn't Always A Sign Of A Bad Ad

Recently, we've discussed two brands with ads that upset consumers and they're respective actions, the Motrin and Kotex ads, weren't necessarily the best ads, whether or not the amount of complaints was warranted. This new British Public Service Announcement, via AdFreak, uses an effective, violent shock factor that, not surprisingly, has a number of people up in arms.

The ad mimics the cyclical nature of abuse very effectively. It's a little hard to watch, but I think that's what makes it good. Really good. Maybe it's a little violent for prime time, but hey, they do warn you. What do you think? Is it too violent?

Wii Music Brings Back Memories

Back in January, I posted about a weird video game music concert that came to town and this Christmas a Wii commercial caught my attention and reminded me of that odd concert tour. While I'm not really a big enough fan to ever want to go to a video game concert, you have to admit, hearing the old Super Mario Brothers theme song brings back memories (like my brother running around screaming 'thank you fat man in the red suit' for our Nintendo under the tree—oh yes, it's on video). Santa and childhood memories aside, I really enjoy this new Wii commercial. Simple and nostalgic, it's a nicely executed, clever way to advertise the new Wii Music for the holidays.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wishing a Happy Thanksgiving to all of our readers—we are very thankful for all of you!

Has The Recession Hit The Super Bowl?

NBC is still trying to sell eight slots of its $3M per 30 second ad space for the Super Bowl in 2009. Originally, NBC reported that it was selling ad space faster than usual—of course that was in September. Much has happened in the economy since then and it appears the $3M price tag is seeming a little steep for some companies this year. Regulars like FedEx, Garmin and GM are sitting this one out. It should be too much of a surprise given that GM may have difficulty getting congressional support for a bailout if it's very publicly dropping that kind of cash on ads. According to the AP, even with a few drop outs NBC says it's in negotiations with other companies to fill the spots.

I wonder if this will this affect the quality of the ads we see. Are companies also going to drop money on new stand-out ads? Or do you think we'll see more repeat ads and less originality this year?

Kotex Australia Keeps Its Beaver, Despite Consumer Controversy

According to Adage Kotex Australia has announced plans to keep a contoversial animated beaver character despite numerous consumer complaints. A beaver? Yes, apparently its a popular private part nickname for women in Australia (who knew?) and a clear enough reference that some people are up in arms about the 'inappropriate' nature of the ad. Kotex, however, has said that the ad increased sales regardless of the complaints so they're keeping the beaver for another year. It makes me wonder how Motrin's sales are these days...

And no, this odd ad won't be extending outside of Australia, which is fine by me since I don't think most Americans would have understood the beaver reference in the slightest. It must be an Australian thing.

The difference between the company reactions is interesting to note, especially since Motrin is now getting some criticism for succumbing to the vocal minority.

Dr. Pepper Extends Free Soda Offer Through Monday Night

According to an article in MarketWatch, Dr. Pepper is extending its offer for a free Dr. Pepper through 6 p.m. EST tonight. With overwhelming demand, the Dr. Pepper Web site was down almost all day Sunday. They've added a toll-free number for those unable to access the site: 1-888-DRPEPPER.

Though the offer is a free Dr. Pepper for everyone in America, the recorded message at the toll-free number limits one per household.