In Japan, potato supply shortages have become a societal problem since the end of 2021 due to flooding in North America and logistical disruptions caused by COVID. Competing fast food restaurants were forced to deal with the situation by reducing the size of their fries and discontinuing some sales. To spare its customers any inconvenience amidst this unprecedented supply crisis and continue to provide them with the enjoyable dining experience they had grown accustomed to, Burger King thought up a completely novel solution.

Burger King asked for help by issuing a release seeking new side order items to replace French fries. But it didn't stop there. The company and its customers had created a place on Twitter where everyone can readily suggest ideas to solve the potato shortage.

were paying close attention to what each fast food chain was doing. Burger King sent out this message: “French Fries may be off the menu due to the potato shortage. We are looking forward to hearing from you and your colleagues to help us here at Burger King,” with this call on social media “We’re looking for a sidekick for the WHOPPER.” The idea was to gather suggestions for new side menu items from Burger King fans, consumers, and businesses, and generate a format to attract public attention.

Burger King asked for help by issuing a release seeking new side order items to replace French fries. But it didn't stop there. We created a space on Twitter where companies and customers could readily suggest ideas to solve the potato shortage by just sending a single reply, and set out to get everyone to chip in to solve the unprecedented supply crisis.

As a result, exactly as they had hoped, ideas poured in one after another from various companies, organizations, and even fans. The comment section attracted attention from all over Japan and developed into an announcement medium allowing many companies to participate. Media impressions numbered approximately 90.15 million hits. The total advertising value equivalency amounted to 3.3 million dollars. Beginning with a single Tweet, Burger King overcame the crisis of discontinued sales of French fries by working together with customers all over Japan.

1461 comments for the new side order item

331 media posts

Total advertising value of $3.3 million

Media hits approx. 90.15 million