International Women’s Day: A Whopper of a Mistake

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” P.T. Barnum is reputed to have said. But this approach is becoming outdated as brands witness the impact of advertising slip-ups and controversial posts on their market position.

Ads have been essential tools for many businesses worldwide that help promote a brand’s product or service, increase brand awareness, brand loyalty, and much more. Ads are intended to put a brand in the spotlight. But what happens if a brand does that wrong?

Empowering Women

“Women belong in the kitchen,” Burger King U.K. tweeted from its Twitter account on International Women’s Day in 2021.

“If they want to, of course,” the brand added in a reply, subsequently announcing its culinary scholarship program for female employees with the intention of empowering more women with the opportunity to pursue a culinary career.

While the overall announcement was supportive, many users only saw the initial tweet in the thread which triggered tens of thousands of furious and sexist replies and garnered more than a quarter of a million retweets — 20 times more than the follow-up tweets about empowering women.

The Wrong Message

In an attempt to highlight gender disparity in the restaurant industry, Burger King’s controversial tweet left its audience with a misinterpreted message that came across as hostile to women when shared without context. And even worse, using sexist tropes as clickbait was insensitive and tone-deaf, especially on a day meant to celebrate women.

Apologies Overdue

Yet amongst all the outrage, Burger King defended its campaign to critics: “The best time to delete this post was immediately after posing it… The second-best time is now” rival KFC tweeted. To which the fast-food giant replied, “Why would we delete a tweet that’s drawing attention to a huge lack of female representation in our industry?”

It wasn’t until worldwide media coverage as well as 12 hours of nonstop debate and defensiveness that Burger King officially apologized and deleted its tweet — a response that was due within minutes of the backlash.

The Power of our Audience

Although the tweet might have been in line with Burger King’s brand personality, cheeky and irreverent, tweets are often shared in isolation without the context of replies thereby overshadowing the supportive message with a provoking setup. The initial tweet should have included the full explanation of Burger King’s new initiative to retain the importance of its message and to pleasantly entertain its audience. But the damage is already done — at the end of the day, even if the brand didn’t intend to offend anyone, it’s ultimately up to consumers to decide.