Week 8 Case Study

BURGER KING: PROMOTING A FOOD FIGHT

Pass the Mustard up local awards for its ad campaigns. A Sunglass Hut

In early 2004, as Burger King’s CEO Brad Blum billboard featured a huge pair of sunglasses with the

reviewed the company’s 2003 performance, he Headline “What to Wear to a Nude Beach.” Because

decided once again that he had to do something to its clients often had little money for advertising, CPB

spice up BK’s bland performance. Industry leader found inexpensive ways to gain attention. For a local

McDonald’s had just reported a 9 percent sales jump homeless shelter, it placed ads on shopping cart, trash

in 2003 to a total of$22.1 billion, while number - two dumpsters, and park benches.

BK’s U.S. sales had slipped about five percent to $7.9 In 1997, with Bogusky serving as creative

billion. Further, number-three Wendy’s sales had director, CPB finally got national attention with its

spiked 11 percent to $7.4 billion, putting it in position “Truth” campaign aimed at convincing Florida teens

to overtake BK. to stop smoking. CPB started with street-level

Blum surprised the fast-food industry by abruptly research, actually talking to teens in order to “get

firing the firm’s advertising agency, Young & inside their heads.” CPB found that cigarettes allowed

Rubicam (Y&R), and awarding its global creative teens to establish identities, associate with brand

account to a small, Miami- based, upstart firm Crispin names, and take risks. To counter this, CPB created

Porter + Bogusky (CBP). The switch marked the fifth the “Truth” logo and turned it into a brand. It

time in four years that BK had moved its account! plastered the logo on everything from posters to t-

Ad agency Y&R had gotten the $350 million BK shirts, developed a “Truth” Web site, and staged

account only 10 months earlier. To help revive BK’s impromptu live “Truth” parties around the state.

sales, it had developed a campaign with the theme Between 1998 and 2002, teenage smoking in Florida

“The Fire’s Ready,” which focused on BK’s flame- declined 38 percent. The American Legacy

broiled versus frying cooking method. However, Foundation picked up the “Truth” campaign and

observers found the message to be flat and turned it into a national promotion, leading to a big-

uninspiring, and the sales decline sealed Y&R’s fate. budget ad at the Super Bowl - the “Shards O’Glass
Freeze Pop.”
CPB followed with an award-winning, low-
Challenging Conventional Wisdom
budget campaign for the BMW Mini Cooper auto. It
In announcing the CPB selection, Blum indicated
decided to violate conventional wisdom and launch
he had challenged the firm to develop
the U.S. campaign without TV advertising. It placed
“groundbreaking, next-level, results-oriented, and
the Minis inside sports stadiums as seats and on top
innovative advertising that strongly connects with our
of SUVs driving around town. It got the car included
core customers.” BK automatically became the small
in centerfold pictures in Playboy and in movies like
firm’s largest customer, but CPB was not without all
“The Italian Job.” It also created street props such as
impressive track record.
a coin-operated children’s ride as well as Mini games,
Chuck Porter joined Crispin Advertising in 1988.
Mini booklets, and Mini suitcases. When BMW
A middle-aged windsurfer, he wanted to be near the
finally introduced the Mini in spring 2002, the
water. Alex Bogusky joined the firm later as a 24-
waiting list was six months long.
year-old art director who raced motorbikes. The
Similar success with IKEA furniture and Virgin
Prter-Bogusky combination clicked, and CPB racked

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Week 8 Case Study
Atlantic Airways forged CBP’s reputation as an out-
of-the-box, results-oriented agency. Along the way, it
developed some lose “rules.” Among them were: zero
in on the product, kick the TV commercial habit, find
the sweet spot (the overlap between product
characteristics and customer needs), surprise = buzz =
exposure, don’t be timid, and think of advertising as a
product rather than a service.
Back To the Future
Within a month of getting BK’s account, rather
than recommending some kinky new idea, CBP
recommended going back to the firm’s “ Have It
Your Way”, tagline, developed by back BK’s second
advertising agency, BBDO, in 1974. CPB argued that
it could take that old phrase and make it relevant to
today’s customers.
Uncharacteristically, CBP kicked of the new
campaign with TV commercials that were a takeoff
on a British comedy series, “The Office.” In a series
of off-beat office workers compete and compare their
“made my way” BK burgers, reinforcing the message
that each customer can have a burger just as he or she
wants it - no matter how unusual that might be. CBP
planned an entire package of promotions around the
new-old theme, including everything from in-store
signage to messages on cups.
Then, however, the real CPB approach
emerged. To promote BK’s TenderCrisp chicken,
CPB launched a web site,
www.subservientchicken.com. When people visited
the site, they saw what appeared to be a Web camera
focused on a somewhat seedy living room. In the
room was a man dressed like a chicken (except for
the lady’s garter belt he is wearing). The site invited
the visitor to “Get chicken just the way you like it.
Type in your command here.” The visitor could type
in a command, such as “stand on your head” or “do
jumping jacks” and the chicken would respond. If
someone typed in a risque quest, the chicken would
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wave a wing at the camera, as if to say “no-no.”
Below the chicken video area were five other
icons. “Subservient TV” featured three video clips
with various people “having their way” with the
chicken. “Photos” presented five “glamour” shots of
the chicken. The “Chicken Mask” icon produced a
printable chicken mask that one could print, cut out,
and wear. The mask’s instructions were to “cut along
dotted line, put on chicken face, be subservient.” A
fourth icon, “Tell a friend,” pulled up an Outlook
Express emai1 document that invited you to send an
email to a friend with the text: “Finally, somebody in
a chicken costume who will do whatever you want.
Check it out. www.subservientchicken.com ” Finally,
an icon marked “BK Tendercrisp” took the visitor to
the Burger King home page. This was the only
indication of BK’s sponsorship on the site, reflecting
CPB’s desire to avoid seeming too commercial and
“uncool.” Unless a visitor clicked on that last icon, he
or she would have no indication that the site had
anything to do with Burger King.
When CPB launched the site, it told only 20
people - all of whom were friends of people who
worked at the agency. Within the first 10 days, 20
million people visited the site, with the average
visitor spending over seven minutes. Many visitors
apparently selected the “tell a friend” icon, sending
emails flying like feathers.
Food For Thought
CPB clearly demonstrated with the subservient
chicken that it was a master at viral marketing - using
unusual methods to get attention and generate buzz
and word-of-mouth. Despite its success, however,
many analysts wonder if the campaign will produce
increased sales for BK.
Further, what new feather-brained promotional
ideas will CPB conceive in its campaign to keep BK
going strong in fast-food fights?
Week 8 Case Study

Discussion Questions:
1. Who is BK’s target audience and what are its
communication objectives for that audience?
2. Why is viral or buzz marketing effective?
Analyze the design of the subservient chicken
site’s message, including content, structure, and
format. What can you conclude from this
analysis?
3. Do the TV and viral elements of the Burger king
campaign work well together? What additional
elements and media might CPB add to the
integrated marketing communications campaign?
4. What other recommendations would you make to
Burger King and CPB to help them improve the
integration of BK’s promotion mix?
5. Briefly review the fast food industry in Korea.
After choosing one company in the industry,
identify its key marketing problems and suggest
your own marketing recommendation to deal
with the problems.

Sources: Bob Garfield, “Garfield’s Ad Review, ”

Advertising Age, April 26, 2004, p. 103; Catharine R
Taylor, “Playing Chicken,” Adweek, April 19, 2004,
p. 19; Brian Steinberg and Suzanne Vranica, “ Burger
King Seeks Some Web Heat,” The Wall Street
Journal, April 15, 2004, p. B3; Warren Berger,
“Dare-Devils: The Ad World’s Most Buzzed-About
Agency is Miami’s Crispin Porter & Bogusky,”
Business 2.0, April 2004, p. 110; Kate McArthur,
“Burger King’s Big Idea: Have It Your Way, Again,”
Advertising Age, February 16, 2004, p. 1.