Burger King, "Burning Stores" in the Age of Social Media
February 28, 2017
Though Burger King has long surpassed print advertising in evolving their brand, the brand’s “Burning Stores” campaign was honored with the Grand Prix in the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity’s Print & Publishing category this past June. The series of advertisements showed actual photographs of Burger King stores on fire in Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Italy, with a team of firefighters responding to the scene.
The importance of the brand’s flame-grilled cooking method combined with real-life restaurant fires at the fast food chain simply shows that Burger King has cooked their burgers one way and one way only. The striking image, the simple headline (“Flame grilled since 1954”), and the immediate a-ha moment for the viewer are all elements of a classic print advertisement.
By showing the brand at its worst moments, Burger King has connected with audiences in a way that other brands need to embrace. Thanks to the social-media age, Burger King has moved away from having every piece of print communication be so carefully crafted, and twisted it into a more playful, authentic and edgy representation. The Burger King “Burning Stores” campaign was developed at David’s Miami office, based on research found that since 1954, Burger King restaurants burned down more than any other fast food-chain.