In 2013, Burger King, the brand that had once innovatively championed “Having it Your Way”, had receded into the shadows. The 2013 Brand Audit showed that consumers felt little beyond nostalgia for “a beloved, iconic brand” of yester-year and Burger King’s lack of cultural voltage and a poorly defined brand positioning were resulting in an unappealing brand identity. The 2013 Brand Perceptor also made it clear that across the age brackets from 18 to 49 years old, Burger King was losing considerations to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Taco Bell and was only strong among 50+ year old men.

The ambition of campaign was to catapult Burger King back into the league of “most meaningful brands in the world.” The three main objectives 1) create massive cultural impact, 2) change brand perceptions among young adults and be part of their conversations, and 3) drive internal brand change at every level.

After thorough research with our young adult target, Burger King focused its purpose on solving a macro-tension: “in a world that idealizes perfection, there are fewer and fewer places where people feel free to be themselves”. The seemingly subtle shift in brand positioning from “Have it Your Way” to “Be Your Way” made a huge difference from a strategic perspective taking the brand from a more functional space into a more emotional one, better reflecting the true essence of Burger King: authentically unique fast food, for authentically individual guests.

On June 26th, at the San Francisco Pride parade, Burger King launched the “Proud Whopper” – a Human Rights statement in Whopper form. When guests came into the BK along the parade route, they were offered a new limited edition sandwich called “The Proud Whopper” with no explanation of what was different. Hidden cameras captured guests as they unwrapped their sandwiches that were wrapped in the gay flag. As they bit into them they all dissected the flavor trying to pinpoint what made it unique. After a few minutes, guest discovered the intended message that was printed on the wrapper inside: “We Are All The Same Inside.” The entire activation campaign from shoot to film release was only one week but created cultural fireworks and results surpassed internal goals. Proud Whopper earned over a billion media impressions, significantly increased brand fans and followers, and became a trending topic on Twitter. However, the most significant impact Proud Whopper had on the business was creating internal change, increasing Burger King’s Corporate Equality Index from 45 to 80. Research shows that Millennials seek companies committed to pertinent social issues and BK targets these same open-minds as guests and employees. Proud Whopper proved to Millennials that the brand truly lives by its purpose: celebrate and encourage others to “Be their Way.”