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Burger King Joins the Boris Johnson Conversation and Knocks it out of the Park with this Cheeky Ad

Updated: Nov 22, 2022

An advertising campaign that would make Ogilvy leave his Touffou castle and jump on a plane to London.



Advertising at its best: an ad campaign gone viral where Burger King roasts Boris Johnson. It has everything: irony, the mention of their star-product, brand awareness, and contemporaneity.


I flew to London a couple of weeks ago for… and I say this with a lot of pride so don’t ruin it for me… my second business trip this year, and as you might know, London feels like a stimuli bomb that just exploded. There’s a constant influx of information, people, noises, and for those that seek them - cool, creative ads.

Never would have I expected a killer advertising campaign to be right in front of the Houses of Parliament but there it stood.


The latest Burger King roast in a wonderfully witty ad that grills (yeah, I’m a sucker for puns as you can see - especially when they’re food related) Boris Johnson who had just resigned says:

“Turns out there is such a thing as too many whoppers.”

It's just tooooo good. 10 deliciously ironic and witty words aka the power of copywriting.


Best thing about it? It's a 2 in 1: advertise a best-seller and brand awareness; reinforce your image in the public eye as a modern, in-touch, approachable, cheeky brand. A bold, political message developed by BBH London, delivered subtly and with grace… from a fast-food chain. Out of all the companies that could join in on the conversation, get creative and potentially go viral, Burger King is one of the select few that doesn’t pass on the opportunity to tickle the creative part of our brain.


I never understood why brands are afraid to get their hands dirty. Sure - it’s hard to find that sweet spot where you’re neither too political or too controversial and risk swaying away from your values as a brand but, generally, there’s always a way to join the conversation that benefits rather than harms you as a company.


But that’s just me thinking out loud.



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