Burger King's Moldy Whopper

In an effort to promote the fact that it is removing all artificial ingredients from its signature burger, Burger King last week released a video showing a moldy Whopper. While the still shot is graphic enough, the video is even more dramatic:

Showing this kind of food imagery has long been taboo in marketing. Brands would fear that a long lasting impression of the food being inedible would prevail on people’s minds. I’m kinda still in that camp, but truth be told all of the rules have been thrown out the window. This video and image certainly makes the point.

Social media reaction was mixed … some loved the transparency and breakthrough nature of the imagery while others thought it was gross and inappropriate. Either way, the message about freshness certainly came through.

Where do you sit on this? Should you ever show your brand in bad form? What’s your experience? JIM