Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Burger King’s advertising firm, has created a Facebook application called "Whopper Sacrifice." The application is simple: drop 10 friends on Facebook and you’ll get a coupon for a free Whopper. The rejected friends then get an email letting them know they’ve been dropped for a free sandwich. Why on earth would you create a viral marketing campaign centered on negativity? It’s the old comedy rule: Surprise the audience and stay positive. It’s always funnier.
A much better way to do this would be to create an application that would give away a free Burger King gift graphic, say an image of a Whopper, the King or the Burger King logo for example. When your friends are notified they got a BK gift from you they have an option to install the application too. Once you’ve given away 10 BK gifts to your friends you get a free Whopper coupon.
This type of approach does several things:
- It’s positive - Facebook users love giving, and getting, free gifts
- Those gifts on user’s profiles are ads that will be there for a long time
- Many free Whopper coupons would be given out