Burger King is upping the ante for Christmas campaigns this year with an online campaign that lets consumers buy and mail humorous holiday cards to acquaintances with a dollar bill inside.
Each $1 card serves as an advertisement for BK's $1 double cheeseburger and includes funny phrases acknowledging a lack of friendship depth. The premise of the entire campaign, designed by Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, is that it's never wrong to send a Christmas gift to someone you don't know very well. The campaign headline's "Because casual friends don't deserve second-rate gifts", shows that comedic irony is in full-force this season.
The hilarious cards focus on giving gifts to people ranging from casual friends to virtual strangers. For example, a casual friend might get a card saying "It's nearly impossible to put a dollar value on our friendship -- but I did it." A virtual stranger may get a card that says "Sometimes it takes hours to find the perfect gift for loved ones -- this is not one of those times"
More than 8,000 gift cards were sold the day of the launch, according to Brandweek. The campaign focuses on Burger King's value message, which is now competing against McDonald's U.S. campaigns. Of course, the dollar doesn't have to be spent on a burger, but Burger King would probably prefer it if that's what consumers did.
