Burger King's love affair with the clown continues

There are Valentine's Day ads and Valentine's Day ads. The former is all sweet and mushy, making people love it or love to hate it. Most brands fall in this category. When it comes to the latter, nobody can take that spot better than Burger King.

The iconic fast-food chain has now set a standard when it comes to cheeky and in-your-face advertisements, especially targeted at arch-rival McDonald's. And this Valentine's Day, Burger King India has done just that.

In a video posted on its social media channels titled 'Lonely No More', we are shown the instantly recognisable clown mascot, Ronald McDonald. Wait, it's not him. It is actually a clown that resembles him.

We see him in different places, sitting alone while sombre music plays in the background. One can't help but feel sad for him. And then a message appears on the screen, 'It sucks to be lonely. Especially on Valentine's Day'.

We are then told to upload a selfie with him and tag Burger King India on its social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter). The ones who do get a free Whopper - the brand's signature burger, on Valentine's Day

Posted by Ogilvy on Tuesday, December 31, 2019

A previous campaign by the fast-food chain, titled 'Burn That Ad' garnered tons of eyeballs too. It encouraged people to use the Burger King app to screen their competitor's ads. Once they did, the ads would burn on their screen much to people's delight, thanks to augmented reality. Once the ad would burn down, the screen would tell the individual that they had won a free Whopper.

The 'Burn That Ad' campaign was run in Brazil and was executed by creative agency DAVID Sao Paulo. The intention behind it was to promote BK Express, a technology tool that allows customers to pre-order the items they need and avoid busy lines at Burger King outlets. The campaign did well at the awards shows too grabbing multiple Cannes Lions and Clio awards.

We reached out to Burger King India and received an email from its spokesperson stating, "Burger King’s brand essence is all about self-expression and just being who you are. Valentine's day is often depicted as a clichéd glossy celebration of love amongst couples and people in love. Our idea, this Valentine's Day is to provide a platform for self-expression… not just for couples but for singles as well. For once, why not celebrate the loners this Valentine’s…and that was the genesis of the campaign."

Famous Innovations was behind the Burger King India ad while FoxyMoron led its social media execution and amplification.