Either fast-food giant Burger King is full of the milk of human kindness, or it knows how to make itself look good in the eyes of consumers.
The company’s United Kingdom operation has been attracting media headlines around the world with an advertisement urging hungry Brits to order from its arch-rival McDonald’s, as well as well as several other restaurants with which it competes.
In a Twitter advertisement on Monday, Burger King said people should support their local fast food outlets during the pandemic and this week’s renewed lockdown in the England, whether they are Burger King outlets or not.
Order from our rivals
New restrictions set to come into force in England on Thursday will, once again, hit the struggling hospitality industry very hard. Under the latest amendments, all restaurants must close for sit-down customers and may only supply take-away or delivered meals.
The eye-catching headline on the tweet – some might say startling – reads: “Order from McDonald’s”.
“We never thought we’d be asking you to do this, but restaurants employing thousands of staff really need your support at the moment,” it says.
Thousands of responses
Apart from Micky D’s, among the rival chains that Burger King mentions are Pizza Hut, Domino’s Pizza, KFC, Subway and Taco Bell.
Coming back to the McDonald’s theme to end off the ad, the tweet reads: “”Getting a Whopper is always best, but ordering a Big Mac is also not such a bad thing.”
According to the UK-based Daily Mail newspaper, the tweet has seen more than 10 000 replies, with many branding the store ‘classy’ while others instead suggested supporting small businesses and local independent restaurants rather than multinational chains.
Some, more cynical, consumers have however dismissed it as a marketing strategy designed to make Burger King look like ‘the good guy’.
England’s new lockdown
Different lockdown rules are now in place in each of the four nations that make up the United Kingdom.
In England, pubs, bars, restaurants and non-essential retail will close from Thursday until 2 December and people are being told to stay at home unless they have a specific reason to leave. However, schools, colleges and nursery schools will remain open.
People will be allowed outside to exercise and socialise in public spaces outside with their household, or one other person not part of their household. But they may not exercise indoors or in private gardens. English residents can also travel to work if they cannot work from home.
