Burger King and its advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky (both Miami-based companies) are no strangers to pissing off people, but usually it's just irate bloggers. That's if you consider bloggers people. Now they've pissed off someone a wee bit more powerful: Mexico's ambassador to Spain.
In Europe, BK sells a Texican Whopper. See, it's like the tastes of Texas mixed with a bit of Mexican cuisine in one giant, greasy burger. And what would be the laziest way to irreverently advertise such a product? Getting a stereotypical Mexican and a stereotypical Texan living in harmony!
In the ad, a tall cowboy in chaps moves in with a small lucha libre
wrestler wearing a mask and the Mexican flag. The cowboy helps his little friend reach the higher shelves, while the wrestler undoes the
stubborn cap of a pickle jar. Their friendship develops until one day the rugged, leathery daddy leans in gently to smell the distinct aroma
of his roommate while the two are watching reruns of Law & Order
late one night, half hoping he wouldn't notice, half hoping he would.
The wrestler looks at his friend, and even though most of his face is covered by latex (leaving only a convenient hole for his succulent lips), we can tell he's excited, afraid, and eager all at the same time. The
two tenderly -- almost as tender as BK's Tendercrisp sandwich -- embrace
and continue to the bedroom, where their body liquids
combine in a fit of steamy passion to form the sauce that tops each and
every Texican Whopper. That is exactly how it happens... except for the
last few sentences.
"This advertisement denigrates the image of our country and uses
improperly Mexico's national flag," Ambassador Jorge Zermeno wrote in a
letter to BK, according to Reuters. Oh, so it's just the use of the Mexican flag that has Zermeno upset.
I'm not sure if there's a chapter dedicated to upsetting diplomats in Hoopla,
but for a company that always aims to shove its greasy fair into your
mouth via "shocking" advertising, this must be a home run.
