As social networks (Facebook, Twitter, et all) have risen, marketing companies have wrestled with converting them into marketing opportunities. With varied levels of success. Latest attempt is Burger King‘s Whopper Sacrifice – a Facebook app that will give you a free Whopper coupon. After you’ve ‘sacrificed’ ten of your FB friends. As in deleted them.
Has the potential of going viral across the social networking site, as those ten ‘sacrificed’ friends are notified that you’ve deleted them (for 1/10th of free burger no less) and they get prompted to do the same to ten of their friends. And so on. And on. Some privacy advocates are concerned that marketing campaigns like these are used to collect data and info (any Facebook app that’s installed on your page has access to a bit of information from your profile) while others see the Whopper Sacrifice marketing ploy as harmless internet nuttbaggery. Others think the campaign is mean and won’t give a decent ROI with some think that the ongoing Burger sacrifices will end social networking as we know it. Personally, I think the campaign is bordering on brilliant, and shows how companies can engage social network marketing without being annoying and distractive.
As with all things internet, there’s already a hack where you can delete friends for the free Whopper, without really deleting them. There’s also a Sacrifical Virgins Facebook group, where ‘sacrificial virgins’ will pose as your Facebook friend, so that you can ‘sacrifice’ them, earning the free Whopper without actually excommunicating real friends. Which only goes to prove, once more, that the internets are serious business.
‘Sacrifice’ comes on the heels of Burger King’s previous, and similarly unorthodox comical marketing campaign for Flame – the BBQ and meat scented BK fragrance. Must admit, I’ve always found the Burger King plastic-faced mascot a little creepy, and the Flame campaign took that to a whole new level.
FWIW Department. The agency behind the campaign is Crispin Porter + Bogusky.
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In a nutshell, for this campaign, the financial ROI is low and the buzz marketing and brand awareness ROI high.
[...] Sacrificing 10 friends on FB never got you a free burger before Burger King’s “Sacrifice” app [...]