The King has gone bloody mad.
Hot on the heels of its “Whopper Virgins” initiative (which has been simultaneously labeled “culturally insensitive” and “hilarious”), Burger King recently launched a new promotion that’s just as absurd. “Whopper Sacrifice” is a Facebook application that combines the joys of unhealthy eating with antisocial behavior, asking users to delete or “sacrifice” their friends in exchange for a free Whopper. Sacrifice? Mel Gibson wishes he had thought of this while promoting Apocalypto.
Some people think this latest bipolar decree from the King is offensive and “undermines the whole idea of Facebook marketing as a constructive viral force,” but some people have never been on Facebook. As anyone under the age of 25 can tell you, there’s a world of difference between friends on social networking sites and those of a more flesh and blood persuasion. The definition of “friend” online stretches far beyond “person with whom one shares mutual affection” to include “enemy,” “former babysitter,” and “I don’t know this person” among countless other permutations. Example: I’m friends with a guy named Koz Collateral whose favorite movie is Scarface and whose hobbies include “cappin’ bitches JK” and “ridin'”. I haven’t been interested in ridin’ for about three years. Facebook friends are friends insofar as they’ve checked the box that says so. (Don’t tell Koz.)
Point is, most Facebook users probably have at LEAST ten people they’d be more than happy to de-friend/sacrifice. We’ve all thought about it, avoiding the act because we’re totally insecure and desperate for friends, fake or otherwise out of laziness. But now? There’s a meaty reward for tossing the bastards overboard. It may say “I value a moderately priced cheeseburger over you,” (to which the funny ex-friend might reply “have it your way! LOL”) but it does so with style to spare. Plus the recession…
(Thanks to Tian Xie for pointing out the website!)
Tags: Burger King, Crazy, Facebook, Fast Food Nation, McCrazy
Lifting Fog 
January 13, 2009 at 5:45 pm |
LOL it actually says, “I value 1/10 of a moderately priced cheeseburger over you.”
January 13, 2009 at 9:46 pm |
http://beta.sling.com/blog/1486/Burger-King-Has-Lost-Its-Burger-Flippin%27-Mind
great minds…
January 14, 2009 at 11:50 am |
Will – We’ve clearly got our finger on the pulse of a nation.
Mimi – Wouldn’t that look great on a Hallmark card?
January 15, 2009 at 8:16 pm |
I hope you managed to catch it before it got sacrificed: http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/15/whopper-sacrifice-de-friended-on-facebook/
January 15, 2009 at 9:55 pm |
I got two coupons! What does this say about my social abilities?
January 16, 2009 at 12:25 am |
Wow, you really know how to lose friends and alienate people. I was so ready to do this to with my long series of pending facebook requests from people I don’t know…
February 24, 2009 at 6:17 pm |
[…] in your Facebook arsenal who you might not – in the traditional sense – well, actually know. We’ve trod this ground before. It’s friendship through a glass, darkly. As insecure “Millenials,” though, we […]
March 4, 2009 at 2:52 pm |
[…] that fast food chains will always be a magnet for ridiculousness. Rumbles under the Golden Arches. Relationship-destroying initiatives echoing from the Burger King’s burger palace. You can’t make this shit up, which is also sadly (but deliciously) true for today’s […]
June 4, 2011 at 5:25 pm |
[…] not crying yet? Consider that soon lost to the annals of fast food history will be its bizarre/genius Facebook initiatives; its line of Whopper-scented cologne (one presumes). But most significantly, undoubtedly, will be […]
October 29, 2013 at 2:46 pm |
To uncover coupons of Burger King you can to to the official Burger King internet site. You’ll uncover a lot of coupons and giveaways there.