'Whopper Freakout,' A Freaking Great Campaign

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Mixed Media

by Jeff Bercovici

Main

Idle Chatter: Yahoo, Diane Sawyer, S... Duly Quoted: 'Newsweek' Editor Out o...

Feb 8 2008 8:52AM EST

The Wall Street Journal devotes some column inches today to a worthy subject: Burger King's brilliant "Whopper Freakout" campaign.

On the off chance you haven't seen the commercials, here's the setup: A customer at a Burger King franchise orders a Whopper and is told the sandwich has been discontinued. Mayhem ensues.

The customers' reactions are priceless, and a better testament to the appeal of the Whopper than any close-up of a sizzling beef patty could ever provide. Some of the people seem to undergo a sort of involuntary spasm; others shake their heads as though trying to awaken from a bad dream.

Here's an eight-minute video Burger King's ad agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky, made to document the prank. If you're time-pressed, skip ahead to the second half; that's where the funniest reactions happen.

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