To cool things off between the presidential candidates Burger King invited all of them to visit a restaurant and have a meal together, without discussions, free of yelling and hate. We called this event "A lunch for peace and democracy".  

To prove their commitment with the people, we told them that if they came we were going to give away free Whoppers to voters on Election Day.

The invitation was made through a very simple but effective way, a Facebook post where each candidate was tagged. In the post we told them that if they came in peace to Burger King, we will give free Whoppers to voters on Election Day. The ad also included details such as date and location. When the media saw what we were trying to do, they also pushed the candidates aswell, because they knew that if this happened, things were going to cool off a little bit between candidates and people.

So the big day came, the 13 candidates accepted and came in peace to enjoy a meal together. The media also came and witness all of what happened, laughs, hugs, a foosball game and of course a meal with whoppers. The event lasted around 3 hours, broadcasted through Facebook Live and also on local channel 7 news. 

100% of the presidential candidates attended, including Carlos Alvarado the president elect 

64k+ interactions

1 million+ total reach in a country of 5 million people

$500k+ in earned media 

#1 trending topic on Facebook and Twitter

+1.000 free Whoppers on Election Day

In the end, the Whopper became part of the celebration of Costa Rican democracy and was another reason to get out and vote.

In nearly 200 years of of democracy, Costa Rica has never been through such controversial presidential elections. The campaign was loaded with attacks, fake news, offensive memes, lies and fights between the presidential candidates and of course, their followers. 

Just 10 days before Election Day, Burger King asked them directly through a simple Facebook post to come to a restaurant, work their differences in order to set a good example and encourage people to vote. If they accept, the brand promised to give away free whoppers to voters.

This was the first time in nearly 200 years of democracy that politicians showed people more hate than ideas, and this way of acting was being emulated by the people. So we needed them to make a change, to show by their own example that they could get along, because at the end, when cameras are off, politicians shake their hands and go home, just like we do after a day of work. 

So we proposed them something simple yet difficult, to find time in their busy agendas, 13 busy agendas, to gather in a Burger King restaurant to enjoy a meal. This was going to be live on Facebook so people can learn by their example and also get along during election time. 

Costa Rica has always been a peaceful and democratic country, however the 2018 presidential elections have been rough. For the first time in history 13 different parties are running up for the presidency of the country and many of them have very different positions towards controversial topics such as religion and gay rights. All this mix caused continuos attacks between the candidates, even on broadcasted debates. And of course their followers copied the way they behave. 

Burger King wanted to calm things down between the candidates, to set an example of how the entire population should behave. The brand tried to achieve something that seemed impossible, to gather the whole 13 presidential candidates in a Burger King restaurant for them to have a nice time.