How Twitter Really Feels About The Burger King Austria's New Pride Whopper
When Burger King Austria announced in a rainbow-colored Instagram post earlier this month that it had debuted a Pride Whopper (a regular Whopper featuring only top and only bottom buns) for its "Time to be Proud!" campaign, we have to admit, we were feeling very much like the many confused replies under the post. It's not the first time a Burger King franchise has made an effort to show support for the LGBTQ+ community — in 2014, San Francisco locations opted for a classic show of solidarity by serving a regular Whopper in rainbow wrapping, according to Time – but it is the first time that the chain's marketing seems vaguely tied to innuendo, even if it was unintentional. The brand clarifies on the product's website the use of the two same buns is supposed to represent "equal love and equal rights."
It perhaps should come as no surprise, then, that many of the initial responses to the same-bun burger came from a place of confusion. "This has to be a joke, right?" reads one of the top comments. The menu item has caused quite a stir on social media this week, with people from all over the world chiming in on Twitter to express their shock, annoyance, and amusement with the campaign.
Twitter thinks the Pride Whopper is a hilarious fail
Though Burger King may have had good intentions with its Pride Whopper campaign, some people found the execution to be tone-deaf. "That Pride Whopper is about one of the dumbest displays of performative activism I have ever seen," tweeted one user, alluding to the perception that the company was rainbow washing, or pandering to the LGBT community for marketing purposes without making any real commitments to help them (via Mic). Others mocked the superficial tone of the campaign, such as one user who sarcastically remarked, "Yas homophobia was ended thank you burger king."
This wouldn't be the first time BK has been called out for performative behavior in its marketing. Last June, critics thought it was disingenuous when the chain announced it would donate proceeds from its chicken sandwich to an LGBTQ+ rights campaign because it conveniently positioned itself as a progressive alternative to Chick-Fil-A, which has come under fire in recent years for anti-LGBTQ+ controversies. It remains unclear whether this time BK Austria plans to donate any proceeds from the Pride Whopper toward any LGBTQ+ causes or organizations, but its website says it is an official partner of Vienna Pride.
Despite the backlash, a handful of people are finding the humor in the Pride Whopper and one person proclaimed, "Genuinely the only corporate pride thing that has made me laugh..."