A Whopper of a Viral Campaign
It’s not easy to be a hamburger these days. You’re high in saturated fat, served in some of the dirtiest restaurants in the country and you’re generally the icon for America’s obesity problem. However, people still love you.
Burger King really nailed the concept of how an online video with viral appeal can be used to reinforce brand affinity in a new campaign called Whopper Freakout. Based on the simple idea that people will freak out if you take away their favorite product, regardless of whether or not they would otherwise be vocal advocates for it.
The campaign reminds me of my favorite feature on the Brand Autopsy blog, Would You Miss… The feature poses an important question to gauge the value of a brand. If you can get the product somewhere else and wouldn’t care if it went away, then the brand is essentially worthless.
Burger King probably faces this a lot with the plethora of options people have when it comes to hamburgers. What this campaign proves is that people can’t get their Whopper anywhere else and, in many cases, they will go to great lengths to get one. This reinforces the value of the brand and prevents the commoditization of the product.
It also might make you want a Whopper.
