Burger King Whopper Virgins Controversy: Bad Taste Ads About Good Taste?
Once found, these "whopper virgins" were able to give a "pure" opinion in a completely unbiased American burger throwdown. Or so they say.
So what's all the blog buzz about? People are not debating the culinary merits of the Big Two burgers or the nutritional merits of the companies that birthed them. Instead they are debating whether the video footage of unsuspecting isolated villagers pulled into a room with a marketing research team and two plates of tasty cholesterol is exploitatively offensive or hilariously funny.
Watch the video and then cast your vote. Did Burger King show bad taste while trying to advertise the good taste of its signature sandwich? We could ask the villagers themselves, but apparently they only watch public television.
Comments
Goofy? Yes. Memorable? Yes. Poor taste? I am not so sure. While the villagers look somewhat bemused by the process, I don’t think they are being exploited. I am sure they had to “audition” numerous locals who didn’t find both burgers to taste like crap! I can only imagine what the Whoppers and/or Big Macs did to their digestive systems. I guess we should be thankful they weren’t taste testing belly-bombers from White Castle!
I didn’t think anything particularly “bad” about this campaign, in fact, I thought it was just sort of stupid. Then I found out they really ARE using indigenous people and I got kind of miffed.
Does anyone really think remote people need to be exposed to trans fats and corn syrup?
All I can suggest is that people read Farley Mowatt’s “People of The Deer” where he explains how introducing people to an entirely different diet can be devastating to those people, or just talk to any anthropologist…
this is the only thing I DON’T like about this ad campaign.
Most of what Farley Mowat wrote was BS anyhow.
There’s a funny blog on the Whopper Virgins commercial.
It ties it into Noam Chomsky and how the indigenous people on the commercials will most likely be forced to move to big cities when the fast food chains move in, and have to work for Burger King for a tenth of what American’s make.