Burger King's Most Offensive Ad Yet
By: Anthony Adragna
Published: May 25, 2011

A short 30 second advertisement by Burger King stirred up controversy among several groups of people, ranging from mail carriers to dog lovers, and the chain has decided to change the advertisement in question. The original ad, which aired until this March, features a mailman dressed in a USPS costume becoming distracted by Burger King breakfast options. At one point in the ad he sings, "With pancakes and eggs on my plate, the mail has to wait." 
The postal service didn't like the implication and asked the fast food giant to stop showing the ad. Burger King agreed to retool the ad to show the mailman in a "more positive" light. The new ad will have a similar uniform as the first, but will not use the USPS logo. 
The original ad also angered dog lovers by perpetuating negative stereotypes of dogs, particuarly pit bulls. Reality TV star Shorty Rossi, who promotes the positive sides of pit bulls, urged his fans to boycott the restaurant. 
What do you think of this ad? Do you agree with the backlash?

Comments:
Ann
May 25, 2011

Oh for the love of all that your mother gave you!  It's an AD!!!!!  Get over yourselves, people!  How about concerning yourself with real problems like helping the survivors of the latest round or tornados?  Problems in the Middle East? Unemployment? Helping those most hurt by the economic crisis?  Oh no...you have to worry about a commercial from a burger chain? Get over yourselves!
Dina Avila

Ann is right, it's just an ad, and most ads these days are mildy offensive. If you want to protest something, protest the fact that BK is directly contributing to the obesity epidemic in this country. Protest the fact that BK is unethically raising and slaughtering animals in factory farms (wallowing in their on waste, still alive and barely stunned when they go to the slaughter, etc)  and doing unbelievable damage to our environment. Protest the use of ammonia in the 'meat' because the meat is too toxic for human consumption on its own. There are bigger and much more important reasons to boycott fast food. A silly ad is not one of them.
Chris OE

No, I think this is offensive. I think this whole thing about having to be cool with everything, no matter how stupid or offensive, is just stupid.  Saying there are more important things to be worried about? Also stupid. I can worry about lots of things at once. Being annoyed by somebody's rudeness or thoughtlessness doesn't mean I'm not worried about water quality or civil rights. Do postal workers get a bum rap? Yes? Do certain breeds of dogs get a bum rap? Yes. Does the bad rep some breeds get cause some individual good dogs to end up on death row because they're homeless? Yes. Does Burger King sometimes hire shills to come up with stupid defenses for perfectly objectionable ad campaigns? I bet they do.
Ann

You have made my point.
Joseph Becket

Yikes that's scary, I remember back when there was that run of messes with the fast food restaurants and there were things like fingers in soups, stuff like that. But this is different, makes me feel a bit uneasy. Burger King is a great company, but like many nationwide businesses it can have some weak spots. I was surfing the internet and I found this site where people can vent about poor customer service or products they received... it can get really funny. I would recommend you to check it out here: http://ventme.com/companies/view/116