The Burger King Texican Whopper "inspired by the land where a man ain't afraid to sink his teeth into something hot and spicy."
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Mexico is protesting what it says is a whopper of an insult.
An advertisement for Burger King's Texican Whopper burger shows a small wrestler dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy almost twice his height to illustrate the cross-border blend of flavors.
"The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican," a narrator's voice says.
The taller cowboy boosts the wrestler up to reach high shelves and helps clean tall windows, while the Mexican helps the cowboy open a jar. The lazy Mexican swims by while the Texan cleans the pool.
Mexico's ambassador to Spain said Monday he has written a letter to Burger King's offices in that nation objecting to the ad and asking that it be removed. Jorge Zermeno told Radio Formula that the ads "improperly use the stereotyped image of a Mexican."
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The company pledged Tuesday to pull the ads for its chili-flavored "Texican" hamburger, saying they were "not intended to offend anyone."
"Burger King Corp. has made the decision to revise the Texican Whopper advertising creative out of respect for the Mexican culture and its people," the company said in a statement sent to The Associated Press. Burger King, which is known for its signature Whopper hamburger, said it would air redesigned ads "as soon as commercially possible."
"The revised campaign will focus solely on the Texican Whopper sandwich and will not feature any characters or the use of the Mexican flag," the company said.
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plez sez: what are these ad execs thinking when they approve these obviously offensive projects? demeaning fried chicken ads with black people (kfc). now this over-the-top portrayal of a stereotypical mexican in a burger commercial. the only way to make this commercial more offensive would've been to have the "lil wrestler" illegally cross the border to answer the personal ad in the newspaper!
this is what happens when the people sitting around a table making decisions is not a representative sample of the people who will consume the products. after yuckin' it up at an ad that looks like it was created by a roomful of sixth grade boys, no one in the room considered that having a little person traipse around draped in a mexican flag would inflame some passion from people of mexican descent!
it's been about two years since plezWorld has graced kfc with his presence... i guess i can replace that personal boycott with one of burger king and their texican whopper!
~ ~ Citations ~ ~
Read the AJC.com article about how Burger King plans to alter the ad.
Read the NY Daily News article about the offensive Burger King Texican Whopper ad.
Read the BurgerBusiness.com article about Mexican outrage over the commercial.
Read the Fox News article about Burger King's little Mexican ad.
Read how plezWorld blew a gasket over an offensive KFC commercial.
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2 comments:
Good post! I've actually visited a satellite office for Burger King in Barcelona. The dude was straight-up American. I really do not know how much insight they have when it comes to marketing in Spain and its effects it can have in Latin America.
matt,
i've worked for global companies AND the world has gotten smaller. it is time that all of us begin to recognize and respect people of other cultures and ethnicities.
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