BK Dwarf Ad
The Burger King ad above will undoubtedly cause some controversy because of the way the used the little person actor. Some people may take offense with the commercial because it could be perceived as making fun of the disabled. The spot is promoting the new BK breakfast shots. I think the main message of the commercial is that it is saying even though the breakfast shots are small they still do the job of filling you up. Just like the farmer, even though he is small in stature, he is still a hard worker and gets the job done.
The story of the spot seems a bit counterintuitive if you ask me. If the point of the spot is that your product the (breakfast shots) fills you up then I think they should have had a significantly larger man claiming these tiny burgers fill him up. But the way they have the commercial setup now it seems like they are poking fun of someone with a disability. Also, how does this little person actor have credibility with the general target audience? Please somebody answer this question for me.
I have discovered that burger King has many agencies and media companies working on behalf of their brand but Crispin Porter + Bogusky currently does most of BK’s US television ads.
Best,
A.B.
2 Comments
amberbs
I actually liked the commercial, and usually I am very critical of how people with disabilities are portrayed in the media. It was cool to see a little person in an ad and not be an elf or other stereotypical character. I think the ad shows that perceptions can be deceiving. Perceptions of LPs are not often of hard, manual laborers, but the farmer challenges the perception. BK is trying to change the perception that its small sandwiches are not filling.
Also AB, what’s with using the word “handicapped”? Don’t you know that’s an offensive word? I thought you knew better.
-Amber
A.B.
My apologies Amberbs, I will go through the article again and make the changes.