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Belgium

Burger King angers Belgian monarchy

There is trouble brewing between two monarchs; one is the Burger King the other the King of Belgium.

Burger King has launched an advertising campaign in Belgium to herald the opening of the chain in the country. The campaign asks Belgians to vote online so they can “crown” the true ruler of the country.

Palace spokesman Pierre-Emmanuel De Bauw said, “We told them we were not happy with them using an image of the King in their campaign.”

He added that the image of the King could not be used without permission. “We disapprove of this approach. The use of the King’s image is subject to authorisation. In this particular case, we received no requests. Since it is for commercial purposes, we would not have given our authorisation.” King Philippe appears on the “Who is the King” site in cartoon form.

Shana Van den Broek, speaking on behalf of Burger Brands Belgium, has said the company is considering whether or not they will make changes to their advertising campaign.

“We are deliberating on how to proceed. Should we make a change to our campaign we would communicate that.”

The site puts a choice to users between King Philippe and Burger King. If you select King Phillipe, you are asked if you are sure as he is “not the one who will cook you chips.” After selecting the YES option a further two times, the button then shrinks itself. Following that, the YES button moves away from the mouse cursor as soon as you get close, making it incredibly hard to select King Philippe.

If you simply choose the Burger King, it accepts your vote, and you are taken to a page which says “See you on June 19 for the coronation of the next King.”

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