Burger King’s Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

The Campaign:

Burger Kings latest ad stunt is designed to ‘hijack’ people’s Google Home devices. Last Wednesday around noon, the fast-food giant introduced their 15-second spot on YouTube. The spot presents a single Burger King employee speaking to a camera. To prompt Google Home devices, the actor exclaims, “OK, Google, what is the Whopper burger?” This simple sentence triggered Google Homes devices across the country to read aloud the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry about the Whooper.

Burger King's Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

Burger King’s Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

The Hijack:

In its infancy, the spot generated extreme buzz. However, after airing during The Tonight Show and Jimmy Kimmel Live, the plan began to derail. As viewers began catching on to Burger King’s stunt, they quickly began editing the Wikipedia entry. At one point Wednesday night, the Whopper was described as ‘cyanide.’

Burger King's Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

Burger King’s Ad Stunt Hijacks Google home devices

Burger King Fights Back:

It didn’t take long for Google to catch on either. A few hours after the sport aired on the various nighttime variety shows, it stopped triggering Google Home Devices. It is being said that Google disabled the ad from working, although Google has yet to confirm. The narrative continues.

Burger King was quick to respond with a revised version of the device-hacking ad. The new version outsmarted Google, as it still had the ability to infiltrate the devices. Although this stunt generated some negative publicity and angered customers, it generated volumes of brand awareness. By Wednesday night Burger King was a trending topic across social media. You know what they say, any publicity is good publicity!