A Burger King tweet advertising milkshakes has been banned by watchdogs for ‘irresponsibly’ promoting its milkshakes in the wake of protesters throwing drinks over right-wing campaigners. The fast food chain was found to have broken advertising rules over a tweet sent on 18 May,a day after a Brexit Party rally in Edinburgh, a Burger King tweet read: "Dear people of Scotland. We're selling milkshakes all weekend. Have fun. Love BK. #justsaying"
Police had encouraged (and succeeded) in having a McDonald's location in Edinburgh, Scottland ban the sale of milkshakes in an attempt to stop potential customers from buying milkshakes and hurling them at Farage who was in Edinburgh for a rally. In true rival fashion, Burger King tongue-in-cheek subtweeted McDonald's in the since-deleted post above.
Milkshaking right wing political candidates had become popular in May this year, during the heat of European election campaigning and the height of Brexit discussions. Far right figure Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, had been twice drenched by milkshakes in the preceding days as he campaigned in the north-west of England. In one incident, Mr Robinson appeared to throw punches at a man who had thrown milkshake over him during a heated exchange in Warrington.. and UKIP candidate Carl Benjamin, was at a public meeting in Cornwall on May 10 when a protester also tried to throw a drink over him. 48 hours after the tweet, on May 20, a man in Newcastle threw a £5.25 banana and salted caramel over Farage.
The post drew 24 complaints from members of the public in all, alarmed that the message would spark a wave of copycat offences, despite a follow-up message from Burger King which read: “We'd never endorse violence - or wasting our delicious milkshakes. So enjoy the weekend and please drink responsibly people.”
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA)
said 'Although we acknowledged
that the tweet may have been intended as a humorous response to the
suspension of milkshake sales by the advertiser's competitor, in the
context in which it appeared we considered it would be understood as
suggesting that Burger King milkshakes could be used instead by people
to 'milkshake' Nigel Farage.
'We
considered the ad therefore condoned the previous anti-social behaviour
and encouraged further instances. We therefore concluded that the ad was
irresponsible.'
The ASA added: 'We
told Burger King to ensure that its future marketing communications did
not condone or encourage anti-social behaviour.'
A
Burger King spokesman said: 'Our tweet regarding the situation in
Edinburgh was intended to be a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the
situation. It appears some have misinterpreted this as an endorsement of
violence, which we absolutely reject. 'At
Burger King, we totally believe in individuals' right to freedom of
expression and would never do anything that conflicts with this. We'd
never endorse violence or wasting our delicious milkshakes. On a personal note I think the milkshaking victims involved all truly got their just desserts.
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