Catpaw – diary of an angry cat

Dear Burger King,

I’ve written before about your ill advised advertisements and the lack of judgement shown by both those  who create your ad campaigns and by those who approve them.  Your company shows an appalling insensitivity and astounding lack of common sense. Your latest ad, showing a Hindu Goddess floating atop a hamburger simply re-inforces my opinion that there is serious rot at the top of the food chain within your company.

Now I’m not Hindu – matter of fact I’m an unrepentant agnostic with touches of atheism at the fringes – but even I found your last ad, from Spain, breath-taking in it’s stupidity. Do you wonder why your market share has dropped? As a global chain, you should be aware of how your ads will play. Granted, the Hindu population is not your target market, but that does not allow you to be offensive, insensitive and down right idiotic in your behaviour. To paraphrase a line I used in a previous, unrelated post “Is it too much to ask for a modicum of common sense?”

By hijacking a symbol from another culture and faith, Lakshmi, the Indian goddess of wealth, and slapping her over top your Texas Whopper, you display the worst elements of  Insensitive Westerner. You further aggravated the problem by later offering up this  lame-ass apology “We are apologising because it wasn’t our intent to offend anyone. Burger King Corporation values and respects all of its guests as well as the communities we serve. This in-store advertisement was running to support only local promotion for three restaurants in Spain and was not intended to offend anyone.” It is obvious, even to the casual observer that Burger King has nothing but contempt for the public at large or it wouldn’t keep dishing out it’s noxious, “cutting edge” ads. It wasn’t your intent to offend anyone? You value and respect all of its guests? Wow, did it not occur to anyone that the misuse of a sacred symbol from a culture that DOES NOT ALLOW THE CONSUMPTION OF BEEF to flog coronary busting burgers might, just might, offend someone?

This apology doesn’t cut it. It’s simply a case of “If we get caught, then we’ll simper and apologise”. Let’s see, this year, sex charged and degrading ads aimed at children, insulting Mexico to sell the whopper and now this? All in less than a year? How many times do you have to apologise for these blunders before you realise your ads are not edgy, they are just stupid and offensive. I for one am sick and tired of your sad, bad and pathetic ads.

catpaw

Boycott Burger King until they grow up.

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