LOVE CONQUERS ALL

TitleLOVE CONQUERS ALL
BrandBURGER KING FINLAND
Product/ServiceBURGER KING
Category G07. Corporate Purpose & Social Responsibility
Entrant TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Idea Creation TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Media Placement VIRTA HELSINKI, FINLAND
PR TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Production TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
Production 2 NAPA ARTS & LICENSING AGENCY Helsinki, FINLAND
Credits
Name Company Position
Aleksi Erma TBWA\Helsinki Creative
Matti Virtanen TBWA\Helsinki Art Director
Mikko Pietilä TBWA\Helsinki Executive Creative Director
Ella Komulainen TBWA\Helsinki Account Director
Joonas Hokka TBWA\Helsinki Creative Strategist
Melissa Kuitunen TBWA\Helsinki Content Producer
Saana Sundberg TBWA\Helsinki Junior Communication Specialist
Sara Pitzén TBWA\Helsinki Junior Communication Specialist
Lara Ala-Olla TBWA\Helsinki Designer
Ville Ruokonen TBWA\Helsinki Junior Planner
Juho Ojala TBWA\Helsinki Planner
Niko Hatara TBWA\Helsinki Creative Producer
Jyrki Poutanen TBWA\Helsinki Chief Creative Officer
Ossi Hiekkala Napa Arts & Licensing Agency Illustrator
Maria Kozulya Napa Arts & Licensing Agency Account Manager
Markus Rauramo Virta Media Account Director & Strategy
Miia Backström Virta Media Digital Strategist
Enni Rantakangas Virta Media Outdoor & Print Planner
Kaisa Kasila Burger King Finland Brand Manager
Kirsi Kuoppa Burger King Finland Marketing Planner
Siru Kalpio Burger King Finland Vice President Operations

Why is this work relevant for Media?

The campaign’s success was determined by the effective media use of a limited media budget. During a four day period, we had to maximize the campaign’s visibility, and present a highly shareable execution to the public. We had to be brave in the use of paid media to ensure success in generating earned media. This is why we harnessed the brand equity of two brands – Burger King and McDonald’s. Bringing our competitor in paid media gave the campaign the tangibility to spread in social media. Only one asset was made and distributed. This one-picture-strategy ensured maximum recognizability and shareability.

Background

Burger King Finland has been a partner of Pride for several years. In 2020, Pride events around the world had been cancelled, which created a void of media coverage around the topic. The brief was to come up with a creative execution and the media actions which would spread awareness of Burger King’s corporate values and Burger King’s Pride partnership. The budget of the campaign was minimal, meaning that its success was determined by the effective media use of the media budget, and presenting a highly shareable creative execution to the public.

Describe the creative idea / insights (30% of vote)

The rivalry between Burger King and McDonald’s spans decades, and is well-known around the world. The creative idea used this relationship to promote love and equality in a way which exposed Burger King to all the discrimination sexual minorities have to face every day. By doing this, the creative truly resonates and shows that Burger King lives by its values. A single, beautifully crafted painting was created to make justice for the important topic. A single picture strategy also maximized the campaign’s shareability.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

We had to be brave in the use of paid media to ensure success in generating earned media. We harnessed the brand equity of two brands – Burger King and McDonald’s. This gave the creative execution the tangibility it needed to gain traction on social media. The media budget was used to gain maximum visibility during a four day period. Print, outdoor and Burger King’s restaurants were the chosen offline channels, which made the creative more powerful than just an online execution. The painting is in itself a statement charged with the power to cause both uproar and praise. The strategy was built around fueling both. In addition to the paid media, we seeded the creative execution widely, also to the more conservative media. We calculated that any criticism of the painting would cause a positive counter-reaction, making more people join the conversation in defence of the important values.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The campaign launched on the 10th of September and was only live for the rest of the Pride week. Outdoor advertising, print, restaurants and social media were harnessed simultaneously, with the latter being the most important tool for global traction. As the paid media channels were spreading the campaign throughout Helsinki, we approached journalists from the LGBTQ+, entertainment and mainstream media informing them about the campaign. The painting was also sent to influential figures of the LGBTQ+ community. When the campaign started to get traction, we approached the conservative media to get the discourse going. After the campaign had become a trending topic of discussion, it started to live a life of its own – becoming a part of culture and a symbol for the values it stands for.

List the results (30% of vote)

Love conquers all made the headlines on every continent, generating an earned media value of over 10 million euros and a global reach of over 1.1 billion. It became the most talked about topic on social media during the week, earning praise but also uncovering the discriminatory attitudes rooted in society. The painting made Burger King’s corporate values a subject of global discussion. Most importantly it gave the important topic of love and equality the visibility it deserves. Global reach: 1 101 294 552 Earned media value: 10 186 974 € Social media hits: 22 070 News outlets: 315 Engagements: 1 098 399

Please tell us how the brand purpose inspired the work

Burger King Finland has been a partner of Helsinki Pride for several years. The rivalry between Burger King and McDonald’s spans decades, and is well-known around the world. The creative idea used this relationship to promote love and equality in a way which exposed Burger King to all the discrimination sexual minorities have to face every day. The painting earned praise, but also uncovered the discriminatory attitudes towards same-sex couples and their public displays of affection.