Friday 9 January 2009

Burger V Friends

I love this! Its an application from Burger King that gives you a voucher if you delete 10 of your friends from Facebook. It then sends a notice to your ex friends informing them that they have been sacrificed for a Whopper. Genius. It was created by C P+B.
Jules

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

that's really depressing. I think it flies in the face of all the trends we're seeing - collaboration, a new optimism and a desire for positive change. This kind of cynicism seems very '90s.

Anonymous said...

thats lunch sorted for at least the next week then....mmmmmm

Anonymous said...

What would be sadder (if that's a word?) is if you haven't even got 10 friends on facebook to delete!

www.stlukes.co.uk said...

I think this is a clever extension of an already great campaign, highlighting the customers loyalty to the whopper brand. Also I think the anti facebook thing is a great idea especially as everyone is jumping on the band wagon creating facebook applications etc. Using the social network in an entirely different way creates significant stand out in an increasingly overused channel.

Tim

Anonymous said...

yes yes, clever marketing and all that. But I agree with Emily. Good marketing or not, its a shame that they have to resort to such a cynical strategy. Are we really that depressingly mean a society? Why can't we, and our brands, just be nice? Surely we're growing out of the era in which cynical negativity is considered clever. Its starting to feel boring and outdated.

Anonymous said...

this is refreshing because it's an example of a brand practising what they preach.

social media and web2.0 is about not being overly precious about your brand - it's about opening it up to the public and trusting your audience. facebook trust their users, they know they'll come back because they have such a strong offering. they're not being cagey or defensive about how people use their platform. inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Although I think it's a clever idea, I do feel we should all be more positive these days.

Burger King must be feeling the hit of the 'keeping fit and healthy' new years resolutions.

Anonymous said...

Yes, everyone has been leaping on the facebook application as a tool to publicise a campaign. It's almost become a necessity, but how many facebook apps do you actually use? There has been no evidence to suggest that branded apps work. The only ones that work are apps that provide an authetically useful purpose - something that can enhance the fb experience not just clog up your feeds. We'll see how this one flies, but personally I will not be using it to clear out the address book. But then again, perhaps I'm not target market.

Anonymous said...

in the words of jim royal, "cynical my arse!" its just a fun bit of communication with a sense of humour. lighten up guys.

www.stlukes.co.uk said...

Surely it's just a funny joke that many close fiends will get. And no doubt they will sign each other back up after.

Also imagine not only getting the brief to do another online coupon promotion, but also flogging burgers in january.

I also think it does take into account the growing trend in collaboration and optimism but uses it in a counter intuitive way, that's where it it gets it's energy from -it's a shocking thing to do.

Jules

Anonymous said...

I've noticed on a few forums that there are some people who feel that they are addicted to Facebook and are deleting their profiles...so why not ween your self of instead by cutting down on your friends and getting some free grub at the same time!

I have a question - can you reinstate the friends you delete once you get your free burger? lol

Anonymous said...

I believe you can sign the 10 friends back up, but it's at a cost of getting a voucher for the XL double bacon burger meal.

Anonymous said...

Can't a good idea can be positive or negative, optimistic or cynical as long as it cuts through the noise and engages the target audience in a way that is appropriate to the brand. If the idea had been "add 10 friends to your Facebook and get a free burger" no-one would be talking about it. The cynical exclusion thought creates conversation and, at the end of the day, no-one is hurt. You'd hope the excluded friends will get the joke and Facebook itself is not a sentient being and has no feelings.

Anonymous said...

It launched in mid-december and as of yesterday has gained 16,700 sign-ups. I wonder how much money they spent on it to get that...

Anonymous said...

did anyone else see the whopper cologne too. No one intends on buying the stuff but its just great PR, perhaps this falls into the same category?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7791007.stm