Messaging, Promotions • December 4th, 2008

When marketing gets nutty…

by Chris Lato

Sometimes, wacky ideas should just stay ideas. Just because it’s ‘original’ doesn’t necessarily make it good. For some reason, New Coke and Crystal Pepsi spring immediately to mind.

Consider Burger King’s newest campaign – traveling to remote, impoverished parts of the world and conducting a taste testwith the locals. In the campaign’s words, these people don’t even have a word for ‘burger.’

Some might suggest Burger King is doing these folks no favors, even exploiting them, while exposing them to some less-than-healthy Whoppers. At the same time, the outcry that is already brewing is resulting in a lot of buzz and is sure to generate plenty of earned media coverage.

So what do you think? Brilliant controversy-generating campaign or terrible tactical error?

 

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