BK wins us over with a rotten burger

Decay exists as an extant form of life.

That rings particularly true for a mouldy burger that generated a 14% sales increase, 8.4 billion impressions and $40 million in Earned Media Value.

Last year, Burger King announced it was removing all artificial colours, flavours and preservatives from its signature burger, The Whopper, in the US.

To highlight their shift toward better ingredients, the brand, alongside Ogilvy created an ad showing the decay process of their iconic burger, over the span of 34 days. The ad ends in a mould-covered burger with text that reads 'The beauty of no artificial preservatives.'

Breaking the mould.

Featuring mould on food typically breaks all the conventional rules we have in meal advertising. Generally, brands showcase their food with over-styled, overproduced imagery that looks nothing like the real thing.

So this ad is a refreshing juxtaposition to the ones Burger King would usually produce. It builds an impressive oxymoron between the beautiful, stylised beginning, and the rotten, ugly end. However, it is the end that's considered beautiful, because it proves the lack of preservatives in the burger.

For a fast-food brand to drop preservatives is a feat that’s almost hard to believe. To showcase it in an authentic way makes it more believable to consumers. And that was evident in the uplift in positive brand sentiment generated by the campaign, which rose to 88%.

This isn’t the first time a burger has received rotten recognition.

When McDonald’s closed its last Iceland store in 2009, customer Hjortur Smarason decided to buy a burger and fries to test whether they would decompose or not.

Over a decade later, both items show very little sign of decay. Not surprisingly, this has given McDonald's a bad rap.

So in some ways, this mouldy burger campaign was a cheeky little nod to Burger King’s long-time rivals. And this is not unusual for the brand, who have spent decades taking jabs at their competitors.

So what can we as marketers learn from this campaign?

• Embrace authenticity. Burger King’s authentic approach diverged from the typical highly stylised food advertising we are so used to seeing. By showcasing our products in the same transparent manner, we can create trust and brand loyalty.

• Leverage unconventionality. When we colour outside the lines, we garner attention. This bold move by Burger King proves that breaking the rules can drive impressive results.

This campaign is both risky and creative. But goes to show that when you work outside of traditional boundaries, it can have a wildly positive effect.

It also says a lot about consumer preferences, which are increasingly shifting toward transparency when it comes to their food. And what’s more real and transparent than letting your product decompose in front of the world?

-Sophie, Writer