A King Scandal

Published on Friday, June 4, 2010, by Joyce Slaton / Edit Post

Britain's Advertising Standards Authority has given a clean bill of health to an edgily stupid (or stupidly edgy) Burger King ad campaign premised on the idea that "King," as an adjective, sounds uncannily like "****king." Confused? Let the context do the work. As in an Internet audio ad featuring a conversation that starts as follows:

"'Oh, Officer, don't give us a ticket, I was just getting some king lunch,' with the officer replying: 'I can see that and it looks king good.'"

Posters featuring the expressions "King tasty," "King delicious," and "King great" drew some flak as well, but, overall, the campaign seems to have walked that magic line separating "boring" from "legally actionable."

This, of course, isn't a first for the King: Controversial ads featuring strong hints of oral sex, "Baby Got Back" in promotion of kids' meals, and squat Mexicans wrapped in national flags have stirred it up previously.

Is the ongoing smut-athon working? It seems somewhat questionable.

Image source: Flickr member Creative Tools under Creative Commons

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  • i agree with John.
    n its working because they WANT to stirr controversy. They wouldnt hire professionals to think of things like this if they hadnt already thought about the consequences and aftermath of it all. Bottom line is, at the end of the day, we're talking about BURGER KING regardless of the topic, we're gonna be thinking about FOOD...end result?....GOING TO BURGER KING AND BUYING THEIR...+READ

    i agree with John.
    n its working because they WANT to stirr controversy. They wouldnt hire professionals to think of things like this if they hadnt already thought about the consequences and aftermath of it all. Bottom line is, at the end of the day, we're talking about BURGER KING regardless of the topic, we're gonna be thinking about FOOD...end result?....GOING TO BURGER KING AND BUYING THEIR "King" meals-COLLAPSE

  • Heh. I think it's king clever.