Burger King: Real Meals

The Situation: In recent years, Burger King has released a variety of buzz-driving “social good” marketing stunts that became part of national discourse. As Mental Health Awareness Month was approaching, we brought Burger King a campaign that shined a light on how important mental health is.

The Insight: Social feeds are plastered with smiles, perfect filters and highlight reels of lives lived to the fullest, amplifying the pressure to always appear happy. But the truth is no one is happy all the time, and it’s healthy to express all your emotions. However, BK’s biggest competitor offers a famous menu item that only celebrates one, solo emotion: The Happy Meal.

The Strategy / Brief: In light or mental health awareness month, showcase that at Burger King, you can “have it your way” even when it comes to your feelings.

The Idea: Real Meals - an open invitation for BK guests to express a range of real emotions because no one is happy all the time and that’s okay.

The Results: Real Meals became a lightning rod for conversation about mental health. We saw 100k campaign mentions (198% over benchmark), there were 3.05 billion earned media impressions, worth $33 million in earned value, and best of all social conversations about mental health increased by 67%, driving 22% more MHA website visits.

Awards: 2020 Andys: 2x Gold • 2020 Clios: 1x Silver, 1x Shortlist • 2020 One Show: 2x Merits, 6x Shortlists

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Agency: MullenLowe

Role: Group Strategy Director

Year: 2019