CRAFT A WESTERN WHOPPER

Short List
TitleCRAFT A WESTERN WHOPPER
BrandBURGER KING
Product/ServiceHAMBURGER
Category C04. Co-creation & User Generated Content
Entrant INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Idea Creation INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Media Placement INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
PR INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Production INGO Stockholm, SWEDEN
Additional Company VERIZON Stockholm, SWEDEN
Credits
Name Company Position
Björn Ståhl INGO Sthlm Executive Creative Director
Max Hultberg INGO Sthlm Art Director
Magnus Ivansson INGO Sthlm Copywriter
Simon Stefansson INGO Sthlm Head of Strategy
Erik Karlsson INGO Sthlm Account Manager
Mia Melani INGO Sthlm Account Manager
Stefan Kindgren INGO Sthlm Technical Director
Åsa Eklund INGO Sthlm Graphic Designer

Why is this work relevant for Direct?

Gamers are often in a world by themselves, notoriously uninterested in the normal world of communication and advertising. In the Craft a Western Whopper campaign Burger King directly targeted this community and keep them engaged in the activity for a long time, finding the ingredients for a Whopper in the game Red Dead redemption 2. The campaign put Burger King in a complete new context and gave the target group a new way to experience the brand and their hero product - The Whopper.

Background

In November 2018, the highly hyped game Red Dead Redemption 2 was released. In the game's vast wild west environment, players hunt and cook their own food over an open fire to survive. Just like Burger King have done since 1954. After collecting various ingredients, you can combine them into recipes. Naturally its not possible to cook a Whopper - even though all the ingredients are in the game, but very difficult to find. This was an opportunity for Burger King to reach out the the world of gamers.

Describe the creative idea (30% of vote)

Less then a week after Red Dead Redemption 2 was released Burger King introduced "Craft a Western Whopper", inviting gamers to find the Whopper ingredients in the game, scan them and get a coupon for a free Whopper at their closest Burger King. The campaign took advantage of the in-game icons of each ingredient. And made a image recognition software that could tell if you had each right ingredient in your inventory. By collecting pork loin, a bread roll, prime beef and a cheese wedge, you had collected everything you needed. After scanning the ingredients on craftawhopper.com, you were rewarded with a voucher for a free Whopper, and in a gaming spirit, had 24 hours to redeem it. A clock started counting down.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

The purpose of the campaign was to change the attitude among 18-25 yo towards Burger King, since there is a strong link between consideration and visits. Young people visit frequently and often in bigger groups. They are an important target group and make an important contribution to the profit bottom line. But young people and in particular gamers are notoriously hard to reach, using ad blockers and being off the normal communication grid. The brief was to find a way to get to gamers out there reminding them that they have to eat now and then, not only in the game but also in real life. Take the Craft a Whopper Challenge and the game Red Dead Redemption 2 actually fed you.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

A website, craftawesternwhopper.com, was made for primarily mobile use. After finding the 4 Whopper ingredients in the game, you scanned them using an image recognition software. If you found the right ingredients you'll got a voucher for free Whopper. But you only had 24 hours to redeem it, a clock work started ticking down once you unlock the Western Whopper.

List the results (30% of vote)

The campaign put Burger King in a complete new context and gave the target group a new way to experience the brand and their hero product - The Whopper. The campaign created authentic entertainment that engaged gamers and impacted their culture. Gamers in Sweden and around the world got involved right away, posting tips of how to get hold of the ingredients. Many broadcasted live on Twitch and other platforms where they showed their way to success, influencers posted clips on Youtube when they solved the challenge, the quickest way to find the ingredients were discussed in blogs and forums. 750 Whoppers were given out and the campaign earned 863 million impressions. 1 in 5 of the 18-25 yo men and women in Sweden noticed the campaign. Important associations like: "Delicious" +39%, BK flame grills +143% and consideration +83%. All compared to those that didn't notice the campaign.