Burger King's Whopper Ad Causes a Stir

Each has two top buns or two bottom buns, to celebrate Pride Month
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 7, 2022 2:09 PM CDT
Burger King's Whopper Ad Causes a Stir
With 'equal buns.'   (Burger King/Instagram)

Burger Kings in Austria are offering customers an unusual way to celebrate LGBTQ lifestyles during Pride Month. Restaurants there are offering whoppers with "equal buns," meaning each has two top buns or two bottom buns, reports CNN. The idea is "meant to put a smile on our faces and to remind us to treat each other with respect and peace," the chain explains. Less clear is whether the company intentionally used the sexual innuendo of tops and bottoms in the ad, but social media was having a field day regardless.

  • "Burger King Austria made a Pride burger that’s either two tops or two bottoms… what in straight hell?" tweeted Jarett Wieselman of Netflix, per the New York Post.
  • Plenty of critics accused BK of being insensitive—such as this one—but others thought those critics were taking things too seriously. "As a gay person, this is the funniest thing I have ever seen and I don't think I'll ever stop laughing," was one Instagram comment (by unacornium) cited by CNN.
  • Unsure: "It’s not entirely clear whether this was an intentional innuendo or an inadvertent oversight," writes Jon Stapley at Creative Bloq. "It's possible this belongs in our round-up of design fails that were so bad they were actually good, (and) I can't quite make up my mind."
  • Maybe not: In a post at Out, Mey Rude suggests Burger King probably wasn't making a crass reference. "I have to admit, when I first saw the burger, I thought it was a joke about two tops or two bottoms," writes Rude. "It took me a little while to realize they were supposed to be representing same-sex couples by having same-type buns paired up."
(More Burger King stories.)

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