Burger King has dropped its challenge to the Belgian public to “crown” the true ruler of the country.
Burger King launched a controversial advertising campaign which asked people to make a choice between King Philippe and Burger King. In order to place a vote for Philippe, you had to answer several questions. Following that, the yes button shrunk and became impossibly hard to select as it moved away from the mouse cursor.
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.”
At the time, Burger King representatives said that they were “deliberating on how to proceed.”
It now appears that Burger King has completed its PR stunt.
The company released the results for its completely fictional vote; 51 to 49 percent. They then announced plans to abdicate its throne and the title of king.
The site has been updated to reflect that. The Burger King logo now has the word King removed. Underneath the logo is the statement, “There is no room for two kings in Belgium.”
A spokesperson for the chain said that it pulled the campaign “after a conversation with the palace.”
Making light of the change, Burger King said, “After a few twists and turns and worldwide media coverage, Burger King decided to conform to the popular vote that chose King Philippe of Belgium with a narrow majority.”
It seems as everyone walks away from this situation unscathed. Burger King certainly gained a lot of free publicity from the monarchy’s anger which will help as the restaurant launches into Belgium next month. The Belgian monarchy did manage to get Burger King to drop both the challenge and the use of the King Philippe’s image.
As Burger King launches, it will be interesting to see if they do indeed remove the word “King” from their restaurants in Belgium as their joking press releases stated they would.
