In recent years, Halloween has become a major date in Burger King’s calendar. Campaigns like Scariest BK and Halloween Whopper proved that a bold creative approach to All Hallows’ Eve had the potential to generate tons of talkability and significant business results, promoting brand love, lifting sales and driving traffic to our restaurants. Although this potential hadn’t been fully realized before 2017, especially when it comes to sales and traffic, previous activations had provided enough evidence that Halloween represented a big opportunity for Burger King.

"Come as a clown, eat like a king".That was the challenge we posed to our guests. For one night only, we would give away free flame-grilled Whoppers to guests who came to our restaurants dressed as our most dreadful competitor.We launched the campaign with a branded content film that evoked two of the hottest pop culture sensations of 2017, especially amongst youngsters: the movie “It” and the Netflix series “Stranger Things”. Our film featured a young man in a frightful bike ride, followed by legion of creepy (yet strangely familiar) clowns.As the clowns freakishly close in on the young man, he seeks refuge inside one of our restaurants, confident that Burger King, of all places, would be the safest haven for anyone hoping to escape these heinous creatures. To his surprise, however, upon entering the restaurant, he sees nothing but clowns. Spooky, menacing, scary clowns. And they all want the same thing: a Whopper.The film closes with a direct call to action, inviting guests to come to Burger King on Halloween’s night dressed as a clown, and get a free Whopper in return.

What really set this campaign apart, and has made it truly revolutionary for our industry was its global reach. We had more than 1,500 restaurants participate in 35 countries! A sheer feat in trying to coordinate 35 markets to all participate in the same activity at the exact same time. We had an avalanche of clowns, 110,000 to be exact, coming to our restaurants all pocking lighthearted fun at our competitor while eating a Whopper. It was a cross-cultural phenomenon that truly transcended boundaries, countries, regions, and ages. This was, per excellence, the most global activation for our brand in the history of Burger King.