The likes of Burger King and McDonald's are responsible for some of the most inventive print ads in history (often poking fun at one-another). It seems the world of fast food is ripe for original and creative advertising. But we've always felt that Ronald McDonald has the edge over the King when it comes to print ads – and Burger King's latest isn't helping.
Created by Ingo, the new 'It's only natural' campaign features images of parents and babies. The parents are eating various pieces of Burger King foodstuff, as the babies look on yearningly.
At first glance, the images, beautifully shot by Ale Burset, are pretty adorable. But it doesn't take long, for me at least, for the discomfort to set in. At a time when governments such as the UK's are proposing legislation reduce children's access to junk food ads in an attempt to tackle childhood obesity, any ad that, tongue-in-cheek or not, links children and fast food doesn't leave a great taste. And here's one that suggests junk food is desirable to babies, no less.
And then there's the tagline. 'It's only natural' refers to the child's reaction, not the food. How do I know? Because a tiny disclaimer at the bottom of the ad says so.
Seemingly anticipating that the slogan could be misinterpreted as referring to Burger King's food itself being "only natural", the brand has seen fit to specify, albeit in the tiniest font imaginable, that this is not the case – the text refers to the child, and "is not intended to imply any other claim". If your slogan needs a disclaimer, something doesn't seem quite right.
Call me a killjoy, but the double whammy of babies reaching for junk food and what looks like a wilfully misleading tagline come together to leave a somewhat bitter taste. Still, at least it's not as bad as Burger King's infamous International Women's Day tweet.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
