Awful Advertising: The Moldy Whopper

Traditional advertising thrives on visual appeal. Bright colors, minimal text, and beautifully staged products are staples in any design. Analyze the next ad you see, and think about what it's trying to accomplish. The goal is to capture attention, convey a clear message, and, most importantly, make the product look irresistible. Common best practices include showing people enjoying the product or emphasizing its benefits through engaging visuals. For example, in food advertising, it’s conventional to show the dish looking fresh, hot, and ready to eat.

But what if that tradition was broken? What if a massive company deliberately challenged advertising norms to provoke thought, generate buzz, or make a statement? Today’s focus is on Burger King’s Moldy Whopper campaign, one of the most disgusting but intriguing ad campaigns in recent history. It subverted many traditional advertising principles, raised eyebrows, and sparked a heated debate about the best practices for marketing a hamburger. Burger King’s decision to feature its signature Whopper decaying and sprouting mold over a timelapse left many wondering—why did they think this was a good idea?

Breaking The Mold

In February 2020, Burger King launched its Moldy Whopper campaign, introducing a disgusting and unconventional advertising approach. For those unfamiliar, the ad displays a time-lapse of the Whopper decomposing over several weeks, covered in mold. It was accompanied by billboards and social media posts showing still images of the Whopper in various states of its decay. The campaign aimed to emphasize Burger King’s recent commitment to removing artificial preservatives from its food. It was also almost likely a response to the news of the man who donated his preserved McDonald's Cheeseburger to the National Museum of Iceland. The intended message of the Moldy Whopper campaign was clear: "A natural product will rot, and that’s a good thing."

While some admired the daring and creative angle of the campaign, Burger King was now directly challenging an industry known for portraying food at its most appetizing. Instead of following the norm, the Moldy Whopper chose to tell a story of transparency and food quality, even at the expense of the visual appeal thought to be necessary to stimulate the appetites of their customers. The campaign was recognized with multiple awards, including one from the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Advertising executives were praising Burger King's unique approach. But what did normal people think?

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Nasty Patty

The Moldy Whopper campaign yielded mixed reactions from the public. Some praised the bold approach and appreciated Burger King’s willingness to take the risk of showing a rotten Whopper to highlight the company’s shift towards healthier options. In an industry often criticized for reliance on processed food, this transparent approach positioned Burger King as a brand willing to align with consumer demand for healthier choices.

As expected, not everyone found the campaign effective. Many online responders rightfully criticized the ad for making the Whopper look unappetizing, violating the core principle of food marketing—creating desire. Consumers expressed confusion and discomfort. Instead of associating the Whopper with a craving, viewers remembered images of mold. People recognized that the message, while clever, was secondary to the shocking visuals. They pointed out that provoking conversation is not always equivalent to driving sales—especially when the product looks unappealing. The statistics presented by either side seem to back this up.

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Results Of The Campaign

Supporters of the Moldy Whopper campaign praise the sales boost it gave for Burger King's new preservative-free offerings, along with the high number of impressions and $40 million in Earned Media Value.

• Exactly how much of a sales boost can be attributed to the ad is contested, with some sources reporting 14%, and others reporting only 4%.
• The high number of impressions can be explained by the content itself being an interesting and shocking piece of media that was designed to be widely shared, and that nothing else was going on in 2020 that may have caused a higher-than-usual amount of people viewing the ad online.
• Earned Media Value is the value of the reach the campaign gained when compared monetarily to a paid social media campaign, and there is no doubt that the Moldy Whopper generated tons of buzz online.

Overall, the most important measurement of success is how well the ad resonated with people who are most likely to buy from Burger King or a competitor. Cubely's approach to assessing the effectiveness of the campaign was to ask normal people. Here's a look at some top responses:

Hot Take To Go

In my professional opinion, Burger King’s campaign missed the mark by prioritizing boldness and creativity over product appeal. Promoting transparency and natural ingredients aligns with modern consumer values, but doesn't take priority over the food looking inedible. The visual impact of the moldy burger overshadowed the intended message and turned what might have been a conversation about quality into a discussion about whether the ad was off-putting.

For food marketing especially, visual appeal should be non-negotiable. The ideal advertisement sparks hunger and excitement, not confusion or disgust. For the long term, Burger King’s Moldy Whopper campaign may have succeeded in getting attention at the expense of enticing consumers to buy the product, which one would assume was the company's goal of running the campaign in the first place.

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Key Takeaways

1. Shock Value Isn’t Always Effective. Bold statements can generate buzz, but they also risk alienating audiences. Balance provocation with relevance to ensure the campaign resonates positively.
2. Don’t Let the Visuals Overpower the Message The visuals in an ad should complement the message, not detract from it. If the audience remembers mold but forgets the message of “no preservatives,” the ad has failed.
3. Understand Your Audience’s Expectations. Consumers expect advertising within certain industries to emphasize certain product characteristics. While health-focused messaging can be effective for fast-food restaurants, it should not undermine the expectation of quality food.
4. Measure Success by More Than Just Buzz Attention alone isn’t enough to gauge progress. Consider whether the campaign drives sales and aligns with long-term brand positioning. Viral success is meaningless without tangible business results.

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The Moldy Whopper campaign is a reminder that not all rule-breaking leads to success. While it succeeded in capturing attention, it stuttered in connecting that attention to positive brand associations and may have left a negative impression on some. Business owners and marketers should strike a careful balance between creativity and product relevance.

I'll still never understand how this idea got approved.

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Sources:

Ashoka Behavioural Insights Team. “Feeding Our Desires: The Role of Behavioral Sciences in Food Marketing.” Medium, The Nudgelet, 22 Mar. 2023, medium.com/the-nudgelet/feeding-our-desires-the-role-of-behavioral-sciences-in-food-marketing-29ba5cdcd854.

“David & Ingo: Burger King Moldy Whopper.” WPP, www.wpp.com/en/featured/work/2020/11/david---burger-king-moldy-whopper. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

Handley, Lucy. “Burger King’s Moldy Whopper Ad Is Dividing Marketing Experts.” CNBC, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2020, www.cnbc.com/2020/02/20/burger-kings-moldy-whopper-ad-is-dividing-marketing-experts.html.

Lundstrom, Kathryn. “Social Media Analysis Says The Moldy Whopper Is Disgusting.” Social Media Analysis Says the Moldy Whopper Is Disgusting, 25 Feb. 2020, www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/burger-kings-moldy-whopper-is-disgusting-according-to-social-media-analysis/.

Machado, Fernando. “5 Lessons Burger King Learned from the Moldy Whopper.” 5 Lessons Burger King Learned From the Moldy Whopper, 10 Mar. 2020, www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/5-lessons-burger-king-learned-by-unleashing-the-moldy-whopper/.

“The Moldy Whopper - Burger King: Our Work.” Ogilvy, www.ogilvy.com/work/moldy-whopper. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

Vlaicu, Alina. “BK Moldy Whopper - Campaign Analysis.” Alinavlaicu.Com, www.alinavlaicu.com/bk-moldy-whopper-campaign-analysis. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.

“Whopper or Flopper? A Review of Burger King’s Controversial New Campaign.” Cubery, Mar. 2020, www.cubery.com/blog/advertising-testing-burger-king-mouldy-whopper.

Yingst, Alexandra. “How a Big Mac Became a ‘historical Artifact’ in Iceland.” Atlas Obscura, 21 Jan. 2022, www.atlasobscura.com/articles/iceland-mcdonalds.

“‘Moldy Whopper’ by INGO, DAVID Miami & Publicis Bucharest for Burger King | The One Show 2020.” YouTube, 22 June 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9B9HGQsx0k.

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