| Title | LOVE CONQUERS ALL |
| Brand | BURGER KING FINLAND |
| Product/Service | BURGER KING |
| Category |
A04. Travel, Leisure, Retail, Restaurants & Fast Food Chains |
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Entrant
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TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
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Idea Creation
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TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
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Media Placement
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VIRTA HELSINKI, FINLAND
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PR
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TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
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Production
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TBWA\HELSINKI, FINLAND
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Production 2
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NAPA ARTS & LICENSING AGENCY Helsinki, FINLAND
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Credits
| 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 PR?
The key objective of the campaign was to spread awareness of Burger King’s corporate values, and to create media coverage around Burger King’s Pride partnership. Pride events around the world had been cancelled, which created a void of media coverage around the topic.
The campaign relied heavily on press relations and spreading the campaign through key audiences to create widespread discussion, awareness and engagement which the important topic deserves, but was at the risk of missing out on.
Background
The brief was to come up with a creative execution and the PR actions which would spread awareness of Burger King’s corporate values and Burger King’s Pride partnership.
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 production and media budgets of the campaign were minimal, meaning that the campaign relied heavily on PR and the shareability of the creative execution.
Describe the creative idea (20% 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. The single-picture-strategy also maximized the campaign’s shareability.
Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)
The painting Love conquers all is in itself a statement charged with the power to cause both uproar and praise. The PR strategy was built around fueling both.
The key messages of the were Burger King’s corporate values and Burger King’s partnership with Pride. The painting and press releases were spread 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 values the painting promotes.
McDonald’s presence in the creative was crucial, but any co-operation between the brands has proved to be impossible. After studying the brand values of McDonald’s and finding them in line with Burger King’s, we decided to take a leap of faith and proceed with the campaign – counting on their quiet approval of Burger King harnessing their brand’s PR value for a good cause.
Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)
The campaign launched on the 10th of September and was only live for the rest of the Pride week. It was crucial to achieve the PR momentum during this time frame. Outdoor advertising, print, restaurants and social media were harnessed simultaneously, with the latter being the most important tool for global traction.
First, we approached a handpicked group of journalists from the LGBTQ+, entertainment and mainstream media, supported by a large scale Cision push. Additionally, we approached influential figures in the LGBTQ+ community.
As 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