February 14, 2008
Whopper Freakout and Other Symptoms of Deprivation
By Tom Ryan
In its new Whopper Freakout online and TV ad campaign, Burger King is successfully driving customer loyalty by depriving customers of its flagship burger, the Whopper.
Coinciding with the Whopper’s 50th anniversary, the ads showed what happened at two Burger King outlets in Nevada when customers were told the Whopper had been taken off the menu. Among the stunned remarks by scores of patrons were, “What are you going to put on the logo now — home of the ‘Whatever we got’?” Another customer exclaimed, “What, that is your thing though…Oh my God.”
Some customers were given burgers from rivals such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s. Irate customers ended up returning the burgers, sometimes disparaging the competing brand. “I hate McDonald’s,” said a young male consumer.
Since kicking off on December 9, the video has been played 3.3 million times on whopperfreakout.com, and has had 357,367 views on YouTube. Burger King credits the campaign for helping boost Whopper sales in the quarter that ended up in December by a double-digit percentage.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the videotaped hoax was a twist on a market research technique called “deprivation research” in which marketers measure how loyal consumers are to a brand or product by taking it away from them. Dunkin’ Donuts two years ago forced a group of its customers to drink Starbucks coffee for a week. Verizon Wireless had a group of teens give up using cellphones for a weekend.
“It’s a great tool to understand what role a product plays in peoples lives,” Lesley Bielby, chief strategy officer at Interpublic Group’s Hill, Holliday, Connors, Cosmopulos, who helped conduct the research for Dunkin’ Donuts and Verizon, told The Journal.
Burger King in the past has deprived loyal customers of Whoppers and analyzed what participants ate instead. Still, experts say it’s rare for the method to be used in actual consumer advertising.
Russ Klein, the chain’s chief marketing officer, says he conducts such research because fast-food customers are “promiscuous” when it comes to food choices, and deprivation research sheds insight into customer loyalty.
“While our core customers frequent Burger King five times a month, they frequent other fast-food restaurants 11 times a month,” he told The Journal.
Discussion Questions: Why do you think “Whopper Freakout” has been such a hit? What do you think of the value of deprivation research as a marketing tool, as well as its use in a commercial? Can many brands capitalize on this method?
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These commercials have been such a hit because they are FUNNY, they use regular people, and they have a flagship item that people come into Burger King to get. Great job on these commercials–they make people laugh, they make them go to the internet to see more, and they make people remember the item they are about–the Whopper.
Funny thing is, I think McDonald’s could have (too late now) run almost the exact same campaign for the Big Mac and gotten the same result. But, BK thought of it first.
This campaign is not funny, not cute, and not endearing; and anyone who thinks otherwise is a reality show devotee, so there! Instead, it is classless and crude. But then, the weirdest commercials seem to sell used cars and proven-false weight loss products.
When this TV campaign was launched three months ago (it’s not new, Tom), my initial and very overpowering reaction was that I felt sorry for the customers deprived of their Whoppers. Not because they couldn’t get the sandwich of their choice, but because their lives seemed to be so heavily invested in their hamburgers. Hamburgers!? A sad state of affairs. Seriously, if Burger King ceased to exist tomorrow, would you give it a second thought? These are truly pitiful people, and the commercials only reminded me of how desperately hopeless and dependent some of us become. I came away with a dedication to never buying a Burger King product again. Oh, wait, I made and kept that same vow when they launched the Plastic King campaign.
This Burger King campaign is like American Idol audition shows. You can almost hear BK executives saying “Let’s insult our customers by poking fun at their abject stupidity and cluelessness! That’ll endear us to the fat-consuming public, and Jerry Springer can feature guests Wrestling For Whoppers!” Creepy Andy Warhol would be proud. (That’s a “15 minutes of fame” reference, folks.)
Seriously, do you see yourself in ANY of the whining customers in these ads? The same mindset that enjoys watching people embarrass themselves on reality shows is attracted by these commercials. And, it seems, they’re the same people who frequent burger joints. Interesting connection.
As one who has been deprived of all these ads, I’ve just resorted to YouTube and freakout.com to bring me up to date. I’ve even managed to view where’s the beef. So…as one who is also relatively deprived of a sense of humour, I can say that they did make me smile although I did not for one minute believe that the “real customers” hadn’t been rehearsed. But the point was made sweetly and the happy ending was heartwarming which is, I reckon, why the ads work. At least for people inclined to go to BK anyway. Cynics might just see the product and its fans as the teensiest bit sad. If you’re not likely to visit, this is not necessarily going to make you head for your nearest branch.
As for the question asked, I don’t really think that deprivation as a way of building loyalty is anything more than an occasional novelty. Sure, Burger King has got a cute campaign, to use an American phrase that is rarely part of my now-English vocabulary, but I can’t see many other companies copying it successfully. (What might be interesting to try is announcing a day on which something will no longer be available and see how customers rush to get whatever it is before it’s too late. Then announce that due to popular demand…. But this too would only work once.)
The ads are a hit because they are funny, no different than watching America’s Funniest Videos. People enjoy watching other people make a fool of themselves, and there is nothing more foolish than losing your cool because Burger King has seemingly chosen to stop selling Whoppers. For those of us old enough, it is exactly what Alan Funt used to do on Candid Camera…there is nothing new these days, just recirculated old ideas.
With respect to the deprivation research, I’m not certain how scientific it is, but people do hate being deprived of what they like. Recall the introduction of New Coke. When the existing Coke was removed from shelves in place of New Coke, people demanded that it be returned. It was under the Coke Classic brand. Deprivation reinvigorated the brand.
There is going to be an interesting event happening on February 26. Starbucks has announced that they will be closing all 7000 stores in the US for 3 hours to re-train their employees how to make and serve a proper cup of coffee. 3 hours with no Starbucks available anywhere in America. Now THAT’S deprivation. I think all Americans should stay off the streets as crazed Starbucks fanatics search for their caffeine fix!
I think the commercials are great and at the consumer (of fast food) level, they force one to reflect on and consider the alternatives to the whopper and the fact that there are no alternatives that are “flame broiled”–this is done even if only subconsciously–and the sincerity of the every day people and customers used in the commercials is great!!!
It is also true that BK has really used the internet to the best advantage of the fast food restaurants and they seem to be doing a lot to connect with the post McDonald’s age group. I wish them continued success. Certainly McDonald’s is not going anywhere however a loss of one of the other two competitors would be a bad thing for the group as a whole.
The fact that the product in question is not for pompous, high-browed, health-conscious tastes does not diminish the potential impact of the question posed… Is there a level of loyalty–and personal identity–associated with signature products such that deprivation results in extremely strong emotional responses? Interesting stuff….
I think this ad campaign is great! I have enjoyed the you tube commercials as well. It the classic “not knowing what you got until it is gone” situation. It is sometimes hard to get a reaction from customers as on their true appreciation of a product, and this campaign lets Burger King know that its product makes a difference to the taste pallet of the picky food customer. I think this kind of campaign can be effective with various food brands, HBA brands, and high end luxury brands, like Burger King vs. McDonald’s, or Johnson & Johnson vs. Procter & Gamble or Prada vs. Gucci. In my opinion, I do not think this would work or be effective with general clothing or shoe brands; the only exception could be Nike vs. Adidas.
I would second Dave: what Burger King has achieved has the ring of authenticity, whether the reactions are staged or not, and that is most of what makes the campaign brilliant. BK has built a fantastic set of emotions around their brand, from the eerie, quirky King, to the tongue in cheek labeling both on products and in stores.
The only criticism I have for Burger King is, it’s too bad they haven’t figured out how to spread that cheeky irreverence to their employees. Even in the freakout ads, you can see it on the employees’ faces how painful the experience is for them. It’s great the King is there to make everything all right, but for the brunt of the freakout, it’s a frontline employee taking the hit.
If Burger King employees represented those brand elements as well as the rest of BK’s messaging, I think they’d REALLY have something. As it is, yes it will probably sit aside “Where’s the beef?” in the advertising hall of fame, but it will ultimately fade to just “a moment in time” when it actually comes to engaging with consumers.
I think these ads work well primarily because of the product, the way it’s delivered, and the North American appetite for it. I don’t think this strategy would work well with many other types of consumer products.
Deprivation campaigns works very well with products and brands consumer take for granted.
The first time it was used successfully, according to my recollection, was by the California Fluid Milk Board Commission and its “Got Milk?” advertising campaign.
Deprivation works well only when there is a virtual 100% awareness of the product benefits–even if not top-of-mind. Not all brands can take advantage of this strategy, and now that Burger King has used it successfully, it will be several years before anyone can use it with the same consumer reaction.
A true story: last Sunday night, I arrived in suburban Cleveland after 11PM to find a blinding snowstorm. The only restaurant open: Burger King. They locked the restaurant, but accept drive-ups until midnight. I drove up at 11:15 PM, and they said, “We only have 1 burger left. No Whoppers. But you can have all the fries and chicken you want.” Advertising Meets Reality. No hidden camera, just 2 embarrassed employees.
I think the most interesting thing about the campaign is the authenticity of the customers. What struck me the most was one man’s reaction to the King bringing out his Whopper. It was less of the surprise you’re on Candid Camera look, and more of the thank God I’m getting my Whopper look. Whopper Freakout connects the brand to its core customer in a way that draws them in. Some are even doing their own spoofs on YouTube–what’s better than free advertising?
I am not a “fast food” consumer, but this campaign works on many levels. It harnesses the homemade feel of a YouTube video with the irreverence of the CPB humor. It’s also real people caught off guard, so it incorporates Candid Camera. All it needs is someone falling down….
One of the best marketing campaigns I’ve ever seen. I would put this one on par with “Wheres the Beef?”
Of all the major fast food chains, Burger King has made the most innovative use of the internet as part of their overall marketing strategy. First it was the King and now the deprivation spots. It’s a great marriage of creative and media. Each effort successfully focused on a core attribute of the BK brand. In the age of endless line extensions, it’s great to see a major brand return to the core value of their consumer proposition.
It is a campaign that demonstrates the emotions induced by scarcity/unavailability without actually making the product scarce in anyway. (In this instance it is technically called ‘deprivation research,’ but also clearly demonstrates the emotion that scarcity invokes in consumers.
In that sense, it is a variation of ‘last chance to buy…’ and ‘only 3 units left…’ – without actually making the product scarce, they are reminding customers what they would feel like if it weren’t available.
Does it work as an ad campaign? The numbers will tell. But as a research technique, it is woeful.