The "King" of Creepy

By Konstance Smith

Since it's almost Halloween, we thought it would be fun, as a staff, to blog about our favorite Halloween campaigns. I started brainstorming and the truth is...I don’t really have a favorite. The truth is, there really aren't many Halloween campaigns that are very memorable for me. But in the spirit of Halloween, I have instead chosen a campaign that I have always found a little creepy, but love anyway. I’m talking about Burger King’s “The King.”

This campaign features the Burger King’s creepy-looking mascot with a big plastic head and large grin. In some of my favorite commercials “The King” would unexpectedly appear in the back of someone’s car, in their bed, outside their window, etc. waiting to bring some food from Burger King. In my favorite commercial, “The King” is being chased by the police for reverse pickpocketing. Below is a link to the commercials:

   

In my opinion, the campaign was very successful in some ways and less successful in others. 

What did I like about the campaign?

– It was memorable.

– It made Burger King relevant again compared to its competitors.

– The message was clear.

– The ads were funny and entertaining–you want to watch them instead of changing the channel.

What I didn't like?

– Even though I loved watching the commercials, they never really enticed me to actually visit Burger King.

– There was a little too much focus on “The King” and humor instead of selling the actual product–the food.

As you may know, Burger King recently switched agencies and retired “The King” campaign. Burger King's new agency and spots focus on their food and it's quality, presenting a more health-conscious campaign to keep up with their competitors. Even though “The King” is now dead, it is still one of my favorite campaigns. Happy Halloween and long live "The King."