Burger King Ad Analysis

It’ll Corrupt Your Mind In June of 2009, Burger King released an advertisement for the “BK Super Seven Incher” for a limited promotion in Singapore. The sexual message that this ad aims to convey is not so much hidden or subliminal as it is blatantly obvious. Not many would be able to simply glance at this ad and then go about their day. Men and women alike are drawn to the ad because they are either attracted to it or offended by it. Effective advertising usually triggers some kind of powerful emotion within its audience. In that respect, this advertisement succeeds with flying colors. Whether it is because of feelings of disgust or attraction, the images in this ad are difficult to ignore which is exactly what the advertiser envisioned happening. Although very ineffective, this ad is still being analyzed today which is quite significant. Burger King’s advertisement effectively creates and manipulates the narrative, layout, and copy to create a strong reaction to sexism and vulgarity within its audience causing them to only focus on the nature of the ad, not how much they want to buy the product. The ad, through its imagery and text, aims to create a fantasy where all a man has to do is hold a burger and young, attractive women will want to have sex with them. Even if men do not consciously think this way, the idea it is still in the back of their minds. In an attempt to create an effective subtext with these images and words, the ad dehumanizes both men and women. On one hand, the woman in the ad is seen as an object who is only useful in sexual situations — hence the focal point of her face, her mouth which is directly in line with the burger. Many have even noted that the woman resembles a blow-up doll which further solidifies the idea of transforming women into sexual devices rather than human beings. On the other hand, a phallic idea is triggered in a man’s mind that to create the notion that size does matter and this ad presents it as the only thing