Still in Utah.

Your God is Mor(m)on?

Blow Jobs, Burger King and Seven Inches of Meat
by Eick · June 24th, 2009 · 1 Comment

Wow. Burger King’s ad campaigns continue to push the boundaries. We’ve covered in detail here many different “edgy” advertising campaigns they’ve had. At this point, it seems like BK has done it all: using “Square Butts” to promote kids meals, urging you to “pleasure yourself“, a shirtless BK King, possibly naming a product after a slang term for a close-up photo of a vagina, and frequently throwing around the term “virgin.” This newest ad, however, may take the cake:

Yes, Burger King has a new sandwich called the “Super Seven Incher.” When I say “hot”, “meaty” and “7 inches” what do you think of? Well you aren’t alone. So did the ad minds behind this new campaign, who apparently just couldn’t resist the idea/imagery of a woman giving a blow job to a giant 7-inch hunk of meat. Just in case you couldn’t pick up on the subtlety of the idea, they decided to hit you over the head with it. Other blogs, such as Gawker, have already taken notice:

Just look at all that piping hot beef laden with creamy mayo aligned perfectly with the open mouth of a wide-eyed blonde

Add in the fact that the woman has make-up and facial expressions which pretty much resemble that of a blow-up doll. Of course her mouth is agape, which serves to alleviate any doubt someone might have that maybe, just MAYBE they aren’t making a blow-job reference. Oh, and just to be sure, the word BLOW is prominently featured. The description of the product is only slightly less sexual:

Fill your desire for something long, juicy and flame-grilled with the NEW BK SUPER SEVEN INCHER

When it comes to blatantly using sexual innuendo in your advertising, this is the print ad equivalent of the “Two Girls, One Sub” video that Quizno’s may or may not have been behind. Burger King’s ad agency, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky is known for edgy, attention grabbing ads. When they succeed they soar, but when they flop, they usually crash and burn, generating tons of backlash and negative attention. They don’t shy away from controversy, and they seem eager and ready to use sexual innuendo whenever possible. However, CP+B is focused on BK’s domestic marketing. Copyranter has updated his original post to say that CP+B is NOT responsible for this ad. It appears the ad is running outside of the United States – Fast Food News says it’s a new menu item in Singapore area restaurants, while also remarking:

We’ve seen more suggestive advertising, to be sure, but this one just seems to be poorly executed AND in bad taste (and probably tastes bad, too).

I’m with Fast Food News on this one. Not sure why the people who designed this ad thought it would “work.” Sure, it’s getting attention, but all negative. Even if it helps sell the sandwich in Singapore, it may provoke a backlash in the United States. Every time you get press for one of these ads, an offended mother is that much less likely to take her kids to Burger King.

On a total side note, this ad campaign does hilariously match-up with Burger King’s “It Just Tastes Better” slogan.