United Kingdom’s the Burger King twitter team tweeted that “women belong in the kitchen” on International Women’s Day. The tweet was quickly taken down.
The rest of the thread hastily attempted to explain the tweet, saying how few of Burger King’s chefs were female and that they were attempting to bridge this gap via female scholarships. Posting a tweet like that, with almost no context on International Women’s Day, was one of the worst marketing schemes I’ve ever witnessed.
As an Art & Design major and having spent hours of lectures on the politics of branding, I’m astonished at the absolute lack of critical thought behind this marketing tactic.
The fact that it was not only a tweet, but a whole campaign complete with posters and advertisements stumps me. Not only did multiple people take part in the campaign, but they genuinely believed it was a good way to challenge gender stereotypes.
A basic mistake such as this is one of the earliest examples of “what not to do” in a designer’s handguide. Simple enough, really. Always avoid gender, racial, political, and religious stereotypes or caricatures when marketing or branding.
The absolute lack of thought generated behind a tweet on such a significant day is pitiful to say the least. One user, @Smajor1995 tweeted in response, “They need a new marketing team, cause that was so tone deaf it hurt.”
Using outrage tactics and small lettering to later attempt an explanation for the tweet was a weak business response to a reaction they easily should have expected.
Yes, challenging harmful and sexist stereotypes is something to be praised, but utilizing those same stereotypes is just another step backwards.
The Burger King tweet has become a meme on the internet lately, with thousands jumping on to not only criticize the thought process behind it, but to create satirical versions of their own.
Many users have begun posting purposefully offensive jokes and stereotypes, while then loosely trying to justify their use in the thread below. These accounts have been tagging Burger King UK in their posts, some with captions such as “can’t wait for my new job as a Burger King marketing specialist.”
Overall, it’s discouraging to see such a large brand continue to play into stereotypes. I hope that brands are able to learn from this mistake and not make tone-deaf advertisements in the future. Include and unite your audience, instead of dividing them even more.
Dani Moore can be reached at [email protected].