When we realized that the most famous horror clown of all time – Pennywise from Stephen King’s “IT” – will return to cinemas in September 2017, we saw an opportunity. Because McDonald’s mascot Ronald happens to be a clown as well. So we used the hype around the horror movie of the year to involve our target audience in a surprising experience, giving them a clear call to action to forget about clowns and come dine with the king.
Campaign Success
On the evening of the German pre-premiere of Stephen King’s horror classic “IT”, we let the clown spread fear and horror until the audience had enough. Right when the credits were about to roll, we used two powerful spotlights to show our message to the target group. Turning “It” into BURGER KING’s longest promo ad ever. And warning the audience about creepy clowns and thereby indirectly about our biggest competitor – without naming them once. But we didn’t stop there. When the audience left the theatre we were waiting to make them an offer they couldn’t refuse – by giving away a iconic red balloon that invited everyone to dine with the king.
Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results
Right after our stunt, 500 balloons were distributed to the audience exiting the theatre, inviting them to the nearest BURGER KING with the message: “Never trust a clown. Dine with the king.” Our stunt managed to go beyond the cinema to generate a response all over the globe. Within just 72 hours, it achieved over 900 million impressions and generated press coverage on 5 continents, earning 10 million Euros in media value. On social media, the online film earned over 12 million impressions making it BURGER KING Germany’s most liked, shared and commented promo ad to date.
Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service
BURGER KING is constantly looking for innovative ways to connect with the target group in hope of winning over their rivals’ customers. With our LOVING “IT” promo stunt we engaged the brand with their targeted audience (male, 18-30 years) by sending out an unexpected message against their competitor. And then, in an ongoing promotion after the movie, we invited every visitor to go to the next BURGER KING restaurant. By handing out iconic red balloons referring to the movie that they could exchange for a free whopper. The stunt went beyond the theatre, and managed to generate a worldwide response.
We wanted to use a cost efficient promo stunt that calls on our target group to push back against our main competitor and their iconic clown. And we wanted to keep it in BURGER KING’s usual bold tone. The perfect opportunity: The release of “IT”, a movie highly anticipated by our target audience.