The Holiday King That We Didn't Know We Needed
The team over at Burger King has a track record of creative genius. They were one of the first brands to really embrace the new vibe of the internet when it launched The Subservient Chicken back in 2004, and they famously trolled McDonalds when the remake of the movie 'IT' came out by releasing their own horror film called "Never Trust a Clown".
This year's holiday campaign could have been similarly funny, or it could have taken another sarcastic swipe at its competitors.
Instead, the team read the proverbial room and realized that this was not the time for aggressive competition. First, their UK team opened the season by using its Instagram account to advertise small restaurants with the message that the hospitality industry needed help, and they were there to provide it.
Here in North America, the King took a slightly different route, recognizing that for many people this holiday season, there is no guarantee of a hot meal. So, they used their $1 your way meal as a way to make sure that everyone can get fed this year.
In order to drive the message home, they've been using Venmo to send $1 to thousands of their customers to use on the newly released menu.
Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves and pretend that Burger King is out there solving all of our societal issues. In fact, along with the other major fast-food companies, they're complicit in many of them.
What we can do is use their holiday campaign as an example of how we can all look at our own brand's opportunities and ask how we can use them to support messages that may be bigger than ourselves.
READ ABOUT THE UK CAMPAIGN HERE
READ ABOUT THE US CAMPAIGN HERE
Written by Conner Galway, Junction Consulting