In a new campaign by BBH agency, fast-food chain Burger King decided to (once again) troll its competitor(s). Only this time, it’s not via an army of scary clowns nor by getting dressed in white sheets to resemble a silly ghost to mark Halloween. Instead, the brand stripped its Whopper down to the patty and used the famous flame-grill lines found on every burger to not only tease its rivals but also to remind consumers that these lines are “what makes the Whopper taste far superior to rival burgers.”

The new OOH campaign, simply titled “Grill Lines,” puts these stripes in the spotlight, Burger King highlighting that it is not just the burger the only icon of the brand but the grill lines as well, as these are part of a Whopper’s essence. Taking shape while going through the flame grilling process — a cooking technique Burger King has been doing for about seven decades — these lines are finally getting the attention they deserve, on the UK streets and in a Burger King restaurant.

The stripy ads follow a minimalist design: Each illustration showcases a burger patty adorned with a seven-line design. But, for each of the posters, BBH developed individual messages intended to make a little bit of fun of its competitors.

For example, the ad that mocks McDonald’s reads “Only a clown would forget their lines,” whereas the public finds out that “Some colonels haven’t earned their stripes yet,” obviously alluding to KFC.

Soco Nunez de Cela, Brand and Communications Director at Burger King UK, says: “We’ve been flame grilling for over 60 years and our grill lines are as iconic as our mouth-watering Whoppers. With a creatively distinctive and unique campaign, BBH has brought to life how our branding goes beyond our logo, to a fiery stamp of superior quality and flavor.”

“Every Whopper comes with a clear seal of approval, its grill lines. So we wanted the world to know that if your burger has no lines, then it’s definitely not a whopper,” concludes Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes, Deputy Executive Creative Director at BBH.

The OOH campaign is also complemented by limited-edition packaging, available throughout the month of July, with the striped designs also visible across the T-shirts worn by the employees at Burger King’s Leicester Square restaurant.

The “Grill Lines” initiative — which runs nationwide with media planning by iProspect — represents the latest in the agency’s series of projects to speak about the brand’s flame-grilled credentials, promoting the products’ superior quality in a highly creative way.

Burger King’s recent campaign is yet another excellent example of a brand using a symbol — that has become synonymous with the company — to strengthen the bond with its audience. Another company that is proudly wearing an instantly recognizable symbol is Jeep which, in partnership with Publicis Middle East, has used its famous grille (a brand mark that cannot be mistaken for others in the automotive industry) to generate a new form of communication and call its community to an adventure like no other.

Credits:

Client: Burger King

Katie Evans: Chief Marketing Officer

Soco Nunez de Cela: Brand and Comms Director

Suzi Hoy: Senior Brand Manager

Katie Grinstead: Head Of Customer Experience

Agency: BBH

CCO: Alex Grieve

Executive Creative Director: Helen Rhodes

Deputy Executive Creative Director: Felipe Serradourada Guimaraes

Copywriter: Marc Rayson

Art Director: Callum Prior

Designer: Christian Kolodziejski

Planner: Saskia Jones

Planner: Laura Casado Cisa

Business Lead: James Rice

Account Director: Laura Huber

Account Manager: Zimini Fongho

Agency Producer: Lauren Daniels

Media Planner: iProspect